Social Vulnerability of Brazilian Metropolitan Schools and Teachers' Absence from Work Due to Vocal and Psychological Symptoms: A Multilevel Analysis

Adriane Mesquita de Medeiros; Mariana Fernandes Lobo; Marcel de Toledo Vieira; Lia Duarte; João Paulo Monteiro Carvalho; Ana Cláudia Teodoro; Rafael Moreira Claro; Nayara Ribeiro Gomes; Alberto Freitas

doi:10.3390/ijerph20042972

Social Vulnerability of Brazilian Metropolitan Schools and Teachers' Absence from Work Due to Vocal and Psychological Symptoms: A Multilevel Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 8;20(4):2972. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20042972.

Affiliations

¹ Postgraduate Program in Speech-Language Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Brazil.
² Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Brazil.
³ CINTESIS@RISE, MEDCIDS, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal.
⁴ Department of Statistics and Graduate Program in Economics, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Brazil.
⁵ Institute of Earth Sciences, FCUP Pole, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
⁶ Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Teachers' voices and psychological symptoms are the main reasons for absence from work. The objectives of this study were: (i) to spatially represent, through a webGIS, the standardized rates of teachers' absences due to voice (outcome 1) and psychological symptoms (outcome 2) in each Brazilian Federative Unit (FU = 26 states plus Federal District) and (ii) to analyze the relationship between each national outcome rate and the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) of the municipality where urban schools are located, adjusted for sex, age, and working conditions. This cross-sectional study comprised 4979 randomly sampled teachers working in basic education urban schools, of which 83.3% are women. The national absence rates were 17.25% for voice symptoms and 14.93% for psychological symptoms. The rates, SVI, and school locations in the 27 FUs are dynamically visualized in webGIS. The multilevel multivariate logistic regression model showed a positive association between voice outcome and high/very high SVI (OR = 1.05 [1.03; 1.07]), whereas psychological symptoms were negatively associated with high/very high SVI (OR = 0.86 [0.85 0.88]) and positively associated with intermediate SVI (OR = 1.15 [1.13; 1.16]), in contrast with low/very low SVI. Being a woman (voice: OR = 1.36 [1.35; 1.38]; psychological: 1.22 [1.21; 1.24]) and working in schools with various precarious conditions (17 variables) increased the odds of being absent due to voice and psychological symptoms. The results confirm the need for investments to improve working conditions in schools.

Keywords: GIS analysis; absenteeism; mental health; multilevel analysis; social vulnerability index; teachers; voice disorders.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brazil
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Multilevel Analysis
Occupational Diseases* / diagnosis
School Teachers
Schools
Social Vulnerability
Voice Disorders*

Grants and funding

The project was funded by the Department for the Articulation of Education Systems of the Ministry of Education, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), and the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP). This article was supported by National Funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within CINTESIS, R&D Unit (reference UIDB/4255/2020) and the scope of projects Refªs UIDB/04683/2020 and UIDP/04683/2020.