OBJECTIVE: To analyse the perception of psychosocial factors and mental workload of nurses who work in intensive care units. It is hypothesised that nurses in these units could perceive psychosocial risks, manifesting in a high mental work load. The psychosocial dimension related to the position's cognitive demands is hypothesised to mostly explain mental work load. METHOD: Quantitative study, with a descriptive, cross-sectional, and comparative design. A total of 91% of the intensive care unit populations of three Chilean hospitals was surveyed, corresponding to 111 nurses. The instruments utilised included (A) a biosociodemographic history questionnaire; (b) the SUSESO-ISTAS 21 questionnaire; and (c) the Mental Work Load Subjective Scale (ESCAM, in Spanish). RESULTS: In total, 64% and 57% of participants perceived high levels of exposure to the psychosocial risks Psychosocial demands and Double shift, respectively. In addition, a medium-high level of overall mental load was observed. Positive and significant correlations between some of the SUSESO-ISTAS 21 and ESCAM dimensions were obtained. Using a regression analysis, it was determined that three dimensions of the psychosocial risk questionnaire helped to explain 38% of the overall mental load. CONCLUSION: Intensive care unit nurses felt that inadequate psychosocial factors and mental work overload existed in several of the tested dimensions.

Objectives: To analyze scientific activity in Latin American nursing using bibliometric indicators.

No abstract

No abstract

El objetivo de este estudio es confirmar las características psicométricas de la Escala Subjetiva de Carga Mental de Trabajo (ESCAM) en trabajadores sanitarios de hospitales chilenos. Participaron en este estudio 379 trabajadores de tres hospitales. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: (a) ESCAM; y (b) cuestionario SUSESO-ISTAS 21. Los resultados indican que ESCAM se estructura en cinco dimensiones: Demandas cognitivas y complejidad de la tarea, Características de la tarea, Organización temporal, Ritmo de trabajo y Consecuencias para la salud. Asimismo, se observan correlaciones significativas entre la puntuación total de ESCAM y sus dimensiones con los factores de SUSESO-ISTAS 21. Además, se comprobó la validez de la escala mediante el análisis de perfiles de carga mental con diferentes grupos profesionales.