Headache among nurse’s aides working at emergency care hospitals

Abstract

Introduction. Nurse’s aides working at emergency care hospitals are exposed to many stressful factors. Headache is a common complaint among them. Objectives. To characterize the occurrence of headache among nurse’s aides working at emergency care hospitals. Method. We used a questionnaire to analyze headache among nurse’s aides in two public emergency care hospitals in Belém, Brazil. Results. The prevalence of headache was 65%. Women reported more head­ache than men (76%). Ages between 45 to 54 years old were more frequently affected. Married individuals reported more headache (73.5%) compared to individuals with other marital status. Episodes of headache occurred more often once a month, lasting 30 minutes, with a bilateral and pulsatile characteristic (54%), these episodes were more often considered of strong intensity. Common associated symp­toms were phonophobia, nauseas and photophobia. Conclusion. Headache is a factor that affects the health of nurse’s aides working in public emergency care hospitals in Belém, Brazil.