Biomechanical and occupational risks in a material and sterilization central

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Professionals working in the Material and Sterilization Central (MSC) have the function of receiving, cleaning, sterilizing, packing and storing utensils used in hospital surgeries. It is thus a profession of great physical and mental demand with high workload and stress. OBJECTIVE: to investigate the biomechanical and osteomioarticular symptoms of employees of a CME in a hospital complex. METHODS: It is characterized as  observational and prospective which was developed which was developed in a public hospital in the south of the country. Twenty professionals participated, such as assistants, technicians and nurses, who answered the sociodemographic, international physical activity questionnaires (IPAQ) - short version and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Symptoms. RESULTS: It was found that 85% of professionals are female; the mean age was 47 years; 70% are nursing assistants; 85% of the professionals have children; 35% had neck pain, wrists/hands and hip/thighs; 85% experience recurrent headaches; 50% have already suffered some work accident, 80% with sharps. CONCLUSION: it is concluded that MSC servers have biomechanical and occupational risks and that preventive measures should be taken to minimize risks to their physical and mental health.