Work and health conditions of sugar cane workers in Brazil

This is an exploratory research, with a quantitative approach, developed with the objective of analyzing the work and of life situations that can offer risks to the workers' health involved in the manual and automated cut of the sugar cane. The sample was composed by 39 sugar cane cutters and 16 operators of harvesters. The data collection occurred during the months of July and August of 2006, by the technique of direct observation of work situations and workers' homes and through interviews semi-structured. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed. Data were analyzed according to Social Ecological Theory. It was observed that the workers deal with multiple health risk situations, predominantly to the risks of occurrence of respiratory, musculoskeletal and psychological problems and work-related accidents due to the work activities. The interaction of individual, social and environmental factors can determine the workers' tendency to falling ill.Se trata de una investigación exploratoria con abordaje cuantitativo de los datos, realizada con la meta de analizar las situaciones de trabajo y de vida que pueden generar riesgos sanitarios a los trabajadores involucrados en el corte manual y mecanizado de la caña de azúcar. La muestra se compuso de 39 cortadores de caña y 16 operadores de cose-cha-do-ras. La recolección de datos tuvo lugar en los meses de julio y agosto de 2006, utilizándose la técnica de observación directa de las situaciones de trabajo y residencia de los trabajadores y a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas, las cuales fueron grabadas y posteriormente transcriptas. Los datos fueron analizados a partir de la Teoría Social Ecológica. Se constató que los trabajadores están expuestos a innumerables situaciones de riesgo sanitario, en particular a los riesgos de sufrir problemas respiratorios, osteo-mus-culares y psicológicos, así como accidentes de trabajo derivados de su actividad laboral, y que su posibilidad de enfermar se determina por la interacción de factores individuales, ambientales y sociales.Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória, com abordagem quantitativa dos dados, realizada no intuito de analisar as situações de trabalho e de vida que podem oferecer riscos à saúde de trabalhadores envolvidos no corte manual e mecanizado da cana-de-açúcar. A amostra foi composta por 39 cortadores de cana e 16 operadores de colhedeiras. A coleta de dados ocorreu nos meses de julho e agosto de 2006, utilizando-se a técnica de observação direta das situações de trabalho e moradia dos trabalhadores, e por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, que foram gravadas e posteriormente transcritas. Os dados foram analisados a partir da Teoria Social Ecológica. Foi constatado que os trabalhadores estão expostos a inúmeras situações de risco à saúde, predominantemente a riscos de ocorrência de problemas respiratórios, osteomusculares e psicológicos. Além disso, estão sujeitos a acidentes de trabalho em decorrência de sua atividade laboral. Constatou-se também que o adoecimento é determinado pela interação de fatores individuais, ambientais e sociais

Descriptive epidemiology of somatising tendency: findings from the CUPID study.

Somatising tendency, defined as a predisposition to worry about common somatic symptoms, is importantly associated with various aspects of health and health-related behaviour, including musculoskeletal pain and associated disability. To explore its epidemiological characteristics, and how it can be specified most efficiently, we analysed data from an international longitudinal study. A baseline questionnaire, which included questions from the Brief Symptom Inventory about seven common symptoms, was completed by 12,072 participants aged 20-59 from 46 occupational groups in 18 countries (response rate 70%). The seven symptoms were all mutually associated (odds ratios for pairwise associations 3.4 to 9.3), and each contributed to a measure of somatising tendency that exhibited an exposure-response relationship both with multi-site pain (prevalence rate ratios up to six), and also with sickness absence for non-musculoskeletal reasons. In most participants, the level of somatising tendency was little changed when reassessed after a mean interval of 14 months (75% having a change of 0 or 1 in their symptom count), although the specific symptoms reported at follow-up often differed from those at baseline. Somatising tendency was more common in women than men, especially at older ages, and varied markedly across the 46 occupational groups studied, with higher rates in South and Central America. It was weakly associated with smoking, but not with level of education. Our study supports the use of questions from the Brief Symptom Inventory as a method for measuring somatising tendency, and suggests that in adults of working age, it is a fairly stable trait

Assessment of proprioceptive exercises in the treatment of rotator cuff disorders in nursing professionals: a randomized controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Shoulder pain in nursing professionals may lead to limitations in occupational and daily activities and consequently interfere with quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of two physical therapy programs which differed in the proprioceptive exercises used on the nursing professionals with rotator cuff disorder, according to quality of life, work satisfaction indicators, and pain intensity. METHOD: This study was an experimental, randomized, prospective, comparative trial with quantitative data analysis. The data sampling was carried out between the months of June 2010 and July 2011 by means of a questionnaire containing socio-demographic and professional information, the Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC), the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI), and the Visual Numeric Scale (VNS). Based on randomization, subjects were divided into two groups. Group 1 (control) was submitted to stretching and strengthening exercises and cryotherapy. Group 2 (experimental) was treated with the same protocol as the control group, with the addition of proprioception exercises. The data was analyzed by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Science version 16.0 for Windows. RESULTS: After physical therapy intervention, significant reduction in pain levels occurred in both groups, with a significant improvement in quality of life for Group 2. No changes were observed in the work satisfaction indicators after the two types of physical therapy interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The proprioceptive exercises were important in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, however the results did not allow us to determine which treatment was the most effective as there was no significant difference between groups

The CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) study: methods of data collection and characteristics of study sample

Background: The CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) study was established to explore the hypothesis that common musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and associated disability are importantly influenced by culturally determined health beliefs and expectations. This paper describes the methods of data collection and various characteristics of the study sample.Methods/Principal Findings: standardised questionnaire covering musculoskeletal symptoms, disability and potential risk factors, was used to collect information from 47 samples of nurses, office workers, and other (mostly manual) workers in 18 countries from six continents. In addition, local investigators provided data on economic aspects of employment for each occupational group. Participation exceeded 80% in 33 of the 47 occupational groups, and after pre-specified exclusions, analysis was based on 12,426 subjects (92 to 1018 per occupational group). As expected, there was high usage of computer keyboards by office workers, while nurses had the highest prevalence of heavy manual lifting in all but one country. There was substantial heterogeneity between occupational groups in economic and psychosocial aspects of work; three- to five-fold variation in awareness of someone outside work with musculoskeletal pain; and more than ten-fold variation in the prevalence of adverse health beliefs about back and arm pain, and in awareness of terms such as “repetitive strain injury” (RSI).Conclusions/Significance: the large differences in psychosocial risk factors (including knowledge and beliefs about MSDs) between occupational groups should allow the study hypothesis to be addressed effectivel

Validity and reliability of the Questionnaire for Compliance with Standard Precaution

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE : To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Questionnaire for Compliance with Standard Precaution for nurses. METHODS : This methodological study was conducted with 121 nurses from health care facilities in Sao Paulo's countryside, who were represented by two high-complexity and by three average-complexity health care facilities. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's alpha and stability was calculated by the intraclass correlation coefficient, through test-retest. Convergent, discriminant, and known-groups construct validity techniques were conducted. RESULTS : The questionnaire was found to be reliable (Cronbach's alpha: 0.80; intraclass correlation coefficient: (0.97) In regards to the convergent and discriminant construct validity, strong correlation was found between compliance to standard precautions, the perception of a safe environment, and the smaller perception of obstacles to follow such precautions (r = 0.614 and r = 0.537, respectively). The nurses who were trained on the standard precautions and worked on the health care facilities of higher complexity were shown to comply more (p = 0.028 and p = 0.006, respectively). CONCLUSIONS : The Brazilian version of the Questionnaire for Compliance with Standard Precaution was shown to be valid and reliable. Further investigation must be conducted with nurse samples that are more representative of the Brazilian reality. The use of the questionnaire may support the creation of educational measures considering the possible gaps that can be identified, focusing on the workers' health and on the patients' safety

Avaliação das condições de trabalho em Hospitais de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil Evaluación de las condiciones de trabajo en Hospitales de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil Assessment of the work conditions in hospitals of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil

Buscou-se identificar como os profissionais de saúde avaliam as condições de trabalho em hospitais de diferentes naturezas, e verificar como estas condições interferem na satisfação laboral. A amostra foi composta por 213 profissionais de diferentes categorias. A análise dos resultados evidenciou um perfil distinto entre os hospitais no tocante as condições de trabalho. De forma geral, apontou as menores médias no hospital estadual, enquanto as maiores foram observadas no hospital filantrópico; resultado que corrobora o atual cenário da saúde pública do País. Ressalta-se ainda, uma associação significativa entre satisfação no trabalho e as variáveis renda familiar e hospital em que o profissional atua. Acredita-se que os conflitos nesse cenário são inevitáveis, frente à precária estrutura de algumas instituições públicas, contudo, são previsíveis e passíveis de solução se o hospital dispuser de um canal de expressão livre e acessível a todos os agentes.<br>Se buscó identificar como los profesionales de la salud evalúan las condiciones de trabajo en hospitales de diferentes naturalezas y verificar como estas condiciones interfieren en la satisfacción laboral. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 213 profesionales de diferentes categorías. El análisis de los resultados evidenció un perfil distinto entre los hospitales en lo que se refiere a las condiciones de trabajo. De forma general, apuntó los menores promedios en el hospital estatal, en cuanto las mayores fueron observadas en el hospital filantrópico; resultado que corrobora el actual escenario de la salud pública del país. También, se resalta una asociación significativa entre la satisfacción en el trabajo y las variables renta familiar y hospital en que el profesional actúa. Se piensa que los conflictos en ese escenario son inevitables, frente a la precaria estructura de algunas instituciones públicas, sin embargo, son previsibles y pasibles de solución si el hospital dispusiese de un canal de expresión libre y accesible a todos los agentes.<br>This study identified how health professionals assess work conditions in different hospitals and verified how these conditions affect labor satisfaction. The sample was composed of 213 professionals from several healthcare fields. The analysis of the results indicated a distinct profile among the hospitals when it comes to work conditions. In a general perspective, the study observed low labor quality averages in State-run hospitals, while the highest ones were observed in the philanthropic hospital. This result corroborates the current condition of Brazilian public health. It also significantly associates labor satisfaction with the variables of family income and workplace. Therefore, conflicts in this scenario are considered as inevitable due to the precarious structure of some public health institutions; however, these problems can be foreseen and solved if hospitals create a free, accessible expression channel to all agents