Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Occupational Health and Safety
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1492229

Stress Sources and Symptoms: the Role of Gender in a Brazilian University Medical School

Provisionally accepted
Marina Romeo Marina Romeo 1Antonio Luiz Marques Antonio Luiz Marques 2Montserrat Yepes-Baldó Montserrat Yepes-Baldó 1*Sefa Boria-Reverter Sefa Boria-Reverter 1
  • 1 Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
  • 2 Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: The main objective of this research was to identify the sources and symptoms of occupational stress among Brazilian university professors and examine the impact of gender on this relationship. Methods: 81 university professors from a Brazilian Federal University Medical School answered a questionnaire that collected demographic and occupational data, lifestyle information, health issues, and stress symptoms originating from work and personal factors. Univariate statistics, Spearman correlation and the forgotten effects theory were used to analyze the data. Results: Participants experienced medium-high stress levels from individual factors and low stress levels from work-related factors. Common stress symptoms included fatigue and nervousness. There was a significant correlation between stress sources from work and individual factors, with different symptoms linked to each source. Gender moderated the relationship between work-related stress sources and symptoms and the forgotten effects theory revealed overlooked but significant cause-and-effect relationships. Discussion: Universities should implement supportive measures and policies that consider the unique challenges faced by faculty, particularly related to gender. These initiatives can create a healthier and more productive work environment for professors and benefit both faculty members and students alike.

    Keywords: Occupational stress, Faculty, gender, Brazil, Occupational Health

    Received: 06 Sep 2024; Accepted: 31 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Romeo, Marques, Yepes-Baldó and Boria-Reverter. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Montserrat Yepes-Baldó, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.