[Work capacity perceived by nurses: descriptive study].

Perceived work ability is the worker perception of his/her job performances. There are many factors involved in this perception: individual characteristics (such as health status, motivation, and attitudes), job characteristics (such as technological resources, physical and mental demands) and working climate (such as job organization and leadership styles). The promotion of a good work ability could decrease the premature loss of workers and could help them in facing job demands and stress. In the health care settings the risk to perceive a low work ability could be higher due to nurses' shortage. The main aim of this pilot study was to measure the perceived work ability among nurses in order to find the work ability predictors. 78 nurses were recruited and had filled the Work Ability Index (WAI). The main work ability predictors found were: age over 45 years (OR=4,56; IC 95% 1,14 to 19,14), working years over 15 (OR=3,18; IC 95% 1,09 to 9,45) and more than 3 diseases (OR=25,00; IC95% 3,17 to 531,90). These results give useful information to health care managers in order to improve human resources management strategies and to find solutions about nurses' shortage and aging workforce.