Abstract
The Educatel Study 2015/2016 was designed to evaluate health and work conditions in a representative sample of the 2,220,000 schoolteachers working in Basic Education in Brazil. The article aimed to describe the telephone survey's basis and design, using a questionnaire consisting of 54 short, simple questions, most of which with multiple-choice answers (closed questions) addressing diseases, accidents, absenteeism, frequency of healthy behaviors, physical and psychosocial environment, and employment characteristics. In the pilot stage, the multi-theme questionnaire was assessed in order to verify the effects of the terminology, the format of the questions and the multiple-choice answers, the questionnaire's internal organization, production of the answers, and duration of the interview. The interviewers' training and follow-up and listening of the calls in real time aimed to identify communications problems. The teachers were interviewed at school after prior contact with the school assistant to set appointments. The advantages and risks of biases related to the telephone interview modality should be considered to interpret the results. The results on the teachers' profile, illnesses, and school environment will provide inputs for elaborating inter-sector measures to improve the target group's health, which is related to Brazil's school system indicators based on the concepts presented here.
Highlights
A survey is a concepts-based activity developed with methodological resources planned to collect and analyze data in a given population
Occupational surveys are intended to study groups – fractions of the overall population – who have in common the fact that they are connected to the same employment under particular work conditions
This type of study is widely used in the workers’ health field, given the advantage of simultaneously examining the health situation and work conditions possibly associated with the target phenomena 3
Summary
A survey is a concepts-based activity developed with methodological resources planned to collect and analyze data in a given population. The prevalence of illnesses and their consequences for teachers’ well-being and work attendance clash with widely accepted guidelines on the relevance of valuing teachers for achieving educational objectives, as indicated in targets 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the Brazilian National Plan for Education 9. These specific targets are considered strategic for achieving the others 10. These characteristics of employment in Basic Education may limit teachers’ access to health services, leisure-time activities, and decent transportation 20,21 These conditions are stressful, reduce quality of life, and produce effects that result in illness 22. How can the system expand the students’ school day, induce greater teacher retention in the same school, and open new learning opportunities for pupils if teachers are discouraged, plagued with health problems, and facing financial dilemmas in their lives?
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