Quality of life and physical activity in intensive care professionals from middle São Francisco.

OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess the level of physical activity (LPA) and the quality of life QL of the professionals who work in ICU. METHOD This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Adult ICUs. LPA was assessed by the International Questionnarie of Physical Activity--short form (IQPA-SF) and the QL by the Medical Outcomes Study 36 (SF-36) questionnaire. RESULTS It was classified active 50.89% out of a total of 59 professionals. Nursing technicians were considered the most active with 60.6%. The QL of the professionals who were considered active were better when compared to inactives, with statistical differences to the category of physical aspects limitation, social aspects and mental health. The working hours were higher than recommend, the physicians were higher than the physical therapist, nurses and technicians nurses (p = 0.046). CONCLUSION Physically active professionals who work in ICU had higher quality of life probably why have lower hours of work and consequently more free time to engage in physical activity.