Labor and health conditions of private school teachers in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil

The scientific literature on teachers' health is scarce, recent, and focuses predominantly on stress and burnout. This study describes the labor conditions of private school teachers in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia State, Brazil. Information on 250 teachers from the ten largest schools in the municipality was collected through a self-applied questionnaire. The most relevant characteristics of teachers' work, evaluated by the Job Content Questionnaire were: speed of work, creativity at work, and relations with colleagues. The most frequent complaints related to posture, mental strain, and voice problems. Prevalence of minor psychological disorders according to the Self Reporting Questionnaire-20 was 41.5%, strongly associated with long periods of intense concentration on the same job and excessive work. Results suggest an association between the prevalence of minor psychological disorders and certain characteristics of teaching work, emphasizing teachers' exposure to stress.