[Work capacity of nurses in a university hospital]

This is a cross-sectional study that evaluated the work ability index (WAI) and the sociodemographic and work-related aspects of 93 nurses in a university hospital. The data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. The sample was predominantly female (98.9%), with 41.7 (SD = 9.0) years old 63.4% have a partner, sleep 6.9 (SD = 1.3) hours daily, 8.6% smoked and 37.6% performed regular physical activity The WAI score was 40.1 (SD = 3.7), indicating a good work capacity. There were correlations between WAI and age (r = -0.22, p = 0.0394), duration of work (r = -0.23, p = - 0.0295), and sleep (r = 0.26, p = 0.0162). Nurses who live alone and non-smokers had higher average than those with a partner and who smoked (41.3 and 39.6; 40.4 and 37.8; p = 0.0476). Thus, healthy life habits such as sleeping 7 hours or more and not smoking were positively associated with work capacity.