Thinking about the concepts of risk, vulnerability and disability with a group of nurses

Abstract

Situations of risk, vulnerability and inabilities surround the daily lives of professionals and people in general. It seems that in Nursing these situations are considered natural, that is, inherent to the profession. This study, of a descriptive, exploratory approach, had the objective of analyzing the perceptions of a group of nurses about the situations of risk, vulnerability and incapacities to which they are exposed, within their process of life and to discover their attitudes in face of these conditions. The study was conducted during the second semester of 2008 with a group of ten nurses (graduate students of a federal university in the South of Brazil). The data was collected through a semi-structured questionaire and submitted to thematic content analysis. Three categories emerged from the analysis: making a concept of what is risk, vulnerability and incapacity with the process of life and care procedures adopted in face of the situations of risk. The results indicate that this specific group of nurses is subjected to work under inadequate conditions, tolerating situations such as the lack of human and material resources, the overload of work, conflicting interpersonal/professional relationships, among others. This way, they are exposed to situations of risk and vulnerability, being susceptible to illnesses and consequently, to the situations of inabilities.

Descriptors: Nurses; Health Personnel; Risk; Vulnerability.