The Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) and the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) will hold on the 12th, 13th and 14th of September the “II Seminar on Mental Suffering and Suicide”, which will bring together specialists in the area of occupational health to discuss strategies for coping with mental disorders and suicides in the workplace. The hybrid event will take place in person in the auditorium at MPT headquarters in Campinas and will be broadcast live on the MPT Campinas YouTube channel. Spaces for in-person participation are already sold out. The MPT headquarters are at Rua Pedro Anderson, 91, Taquaral neighborhood.
The seminar takes place in the middle of Yellow September, the month in which the awareness campaign on suicide prevention is carried out nationally, in reference to September 10th, World Suicide Prevention Day. Created in 2015 in Brazil, Yellow September has the support of schools, universities, public and private sector entities and different layers of society, including guiding actions on the streets and with the yellow lighting of public buildings and monuments, such as Christ the Redeemer. , the National Congress, among others.
In the first edition of the seminar, held in May of this year, big names from academia and the world of work came together to produce theoretical knowledge on the subject and, thus, support the coping actions foreseen in the project.
“The second edition of the seminar aims to bring national and international experiences in tackling the problem, which can be added to the development of the project”, says professor Márcia Bandini, from Unicamp.
“From this event with members of occupational health services, public bodies, academics, representatives of labor categories and representatives of civil society, we hope to consolidate action strategies and, based on them, bring social advances in the fight against mental suffering in the work”, observes attorney Mario Antônio Gomes.
The event will have the participation of representatives from universities, CERESTs, Fiocruz, Fundacentro and other entities representing workers, employers and civil society. Among the names participating are minister Delaíde Alves Miranda Arantes, from the Superior Labor Court (TST), specialist in suicide studies Fernanda Marquetti and international names such as Javier Pablo Cicciaro (ILO – Argentina), Tessa Bailey (WOPS – Australia) , Gloria Villalobos Pontificia (Universidad Javeriana – Colombia), Arturo Juarez García (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos – Mexico), Clara Serrano (ISTAS – Spain), Sari Sarainen (UNIFOR – Canada) and Daniela Biocca (ITF – USA).
Among the topics that will be addressed are a panel of international experiences on mental health and work, with success stories implemented in other countries, the challenges in recognizing the relationship between mental disorders and work, the experiences of epidemiological surveillance bodies, the discussion on the importance of Brazil's ratification of ILO Convention No. 190 and a broad analysis of suicide at work.
How the project came about
The initiative derives from a promotional procedure, chaired by attorney Mário Antônio Gomes, together with attorney Fabíola Zani, with the participation of professors Márcia Bandini and Sérgio de Lucca, from the Department of Public Health at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at UNICAMP, through agreement signed between the institutions.
The justification for the project is based on recent statistics: data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security show that, in 2020, more than 570 absences due to mental disorders were recorded in the country, a number 26% higher than that recorded in 2019. In the group of 468 diseases listed by the agency include disorders such as depression, anxiety, panic, post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder and social phobia.
The problem worsened to such an extent that, in January 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized Burnout syndrome as a work-related illness. It is characterized as a mental disorder that results from professional exhaustion, from an exhausting work routine.
three axes
The project has 3 axes supported by specific approaches, namely: studies and research; policies and practices; training, education and qualification. In the entire project, 23 actions are planned. The ultimate purpose, in addition to supporting the MPT's strategic actions, is to promote suggestions for improving the Unified Health System (SUS), contributing to quality care for workers suffering from mental disorders, from reception to treatment.
Service protocols
The first practical initiative will be to develop and propose care protocols for cases of attempted suicide in urgent and emergency services and for cases of mental disorders and suicide risks for professionals in the Primary Care network (health posts and units).
The project also proposes early intervention in potential cases of mental disorders, through an assessment of psychosocial risks at work, based on national and international experiences and good practices for employers, workers and health professionals, among other initiatives.
At the same time, MPT and Unicamp will discuss and propose improvements to the flow of care and information in municipal health networks, including services such as CAPS, Primary Care, Urgency and Emergency and CERESTs.
Learn more:
Anxiety and depression affect more and more workers
Coronavirus and changes in work relationships
FCM teachers participate in preparing a list of work-related illnesses
