Psychology of Occupational Health

   CONTENTS  

Improving the quality of life of workers

The objective of the Research Group on Occupational Health Psychology is to create healthier work environments. The Group seeks to develop activities based on mapping risk and protection factors involved in the health and illness process of work for individuals, groups, and populations, seeking to improve quality of life.

Led by Professor Mary Sandra Carlotto and linked to the Graduate Program of the School of Psychology, the group has four research areas: Quality of life at work and the promotion of occupational health, The health/disease process and psychiatric suffering at work, Epidemiology of psychosocial labor pathologies, and The construction, adaptation, and validation of research instruments. It major partners include the University of Valencia (Spain) and the University of Porto (Portugal).

A new study by the Group began in 2012 and addresses the prevalence and predictors of Burnout Syndrome among teachers, in addition to the process of developing and evaluating the impact of an intervention program. Burnout Syndrome is a psychosocial phenomenon that occurs as a chronic response to interpersonal stressors that occur in the work situation. With this research, an attempt is made to identify the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome and the sociodemographic, work, and psychosocial factors involved; to understand how Burnout Syndrome develops among teachers, considering the understanding of the phenomenon; descriptive components (symptoms, signs, and criteria); triggering factors of Burnout Syndrome; a description of the burnout process; possible measurements and coping strategies and/or recommendations to improve the situation and for prevention; and the construction and validation of an intervention model under stress and Burnout Syndrome among teachers. The target population will consist of more than 1000 teachers who operate in all primary schools in a city in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.