Worker's Health: Analyse of Medical Permissions in Teachers

Introduction: Many studies about voice disorders in teachers in a city in São Paulo have been conducted by Speech-Language Pathologists. Part of these studies shows that there are other ailments among teachers.

Objectives: The study aimed to analyze medical leaves of teachers who are working.

Method: The medical leaves registered in the period between February 2011 and October 2013 were analyzed at the Health Department of an Educational Institution of a City of São Paulo that has 280 teachers. The variables were gender, age, and type of disease that determined the leave (ICD-10). The data were analyzed descriptively and the association between the disease that determined the leave and the variables gender and age was established by the chi-square test (p≤0.05).

Results: In this study, 1,800 leaves were registered, most of them among women (938, 52.11%) and in subjects < 43 years (951, 52.9%). The illnesses that most determined leaves were those of the respiratory system—ICD-10 (267, 14.83%), factors that influenced health and contact with health facilities—ICD-21 (248, 13.77%), and disorders of the digestive system—ICD-11 (184, 10.22%). The association showed a significant difference in the ICDs corresponding to some infectious and parasitic diseases (&#9794; and &#8805; 44 years), endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic disorders (< 43), circulatory system disorders (&#8805; 44 years), external morbidity and mortality causes (&#9794;) and factors that influence health conditions and contact with health facilities (&#9792;).

Conclusion: The findings lead speech-language pathologists to reconsider their practice with teachers, aiming to better understand the associated factors to voice disorder.

Keywords: Faculty, sick leave, occupational health.