Abstract
BACKGROUND: The heavy and complex work routine in the intensive care unit (ICU) involves high workload, long working hours, high levels of tension, exposure to extreme situations and to hazards of different nature. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of sociodemographic and organizational factors on the development of musculoskeletal pain, tension and fatigue among ICU professionals. METHODS: We interviewed 128 professionals from seven public hospitals in João Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil.The data were analyzed using a logistic regression model, and differences between professional categories by means of the likelihood ratio, the Wald and χ(2) tests, with significance level set to <0.05. RESULTS: The risk to develop musculoskeletal symptoms differed as a function of the participants' professional category.The odds of nursing technicians to simultaneously develop musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and tension were 4.968 times higher (p=0.023) compared to physicians, nurses and physical therapists.This difference was mediated by factors such as sex, body mass index and number of ICU jobs.Nursing technicians were the most exposed group, and thus they require more attention as concerns workplace health interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The participants had long working hours, and differed in regard to the most frequent musculoskeletal complaints as a function of the specificities inherent to the activities of each professional category.