Legal Factors and Psychological Stress of Health Professionals in the Forensic Area: A Systematic Review Protocol

Abstract

Background: The illness of mental health workers in the forensic area has multifactorial causes, but among the main ones is the stress resulting from legal factors at work, such as workload; bylaws; wage; promotion; resignation; assignments; safety rules; legislation for the promotion, prevention and protection of health in the workplace; regulation of risky activities, as they significantly vary the health-disease process of health personnel by directly interfering with their work mode and rhythm. Evidence shows that it is the population group more prone to stress, physical and mental exhaustion, and suicide, unlike the rest of the population. It is noteworthy the fact that 90% of the world population suffers from stress, according to the World Health Organization. Given the growth of primary research on the subject and its importance in the various health outcomes, it is necessary to start processes of compilation and synthesis of this evidence to facilitate understanding of the importance of legal factors as stressors to the work routine of health professionals in the forensic area. Methods: The studies included will be original qualitative and quantitative research articles. This systematic review protocol will be conducted in accordance with the Cochrane Manual and will follow PRISMA-P guidelines. Searches will take place from August 2021 to October 2021 and will be performed from the following electronic databases: APA PsycNet, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Oxford Journals and ScienceDirect. Two reviewers will obtain eligible articles, published from 1990 to 2020, to assess the quality of each study and extract data. A narrative and qualitative synthesis will be used to analyze the primary results, and choose the articles relevant to the research objective. Discussion: The results of this review will contribute to a better understanding that stress in the workplace is not restricted to clinical and organizational factors, but also occurs as a result of legal factors. This expanded understanding of the causes of work stress can better support discussions on the reformulation of legislation related to prevention, promotion and recovery of workers' health effectively. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics committee approval is not required for a systematic review protocol. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed health or social science journal. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD42021225442