[Description of the habits of agricultural workers in relation to the applying of pesticides]. / Descripción de los hábitos de los agricultores en relación con la aplicación de plaguicidas.

OBJECTIVES: To find the habits of farm-workers when they apply these products, to detect dangerous practices, to find the most important defects in farm-workers' protection and to analyse the personal variables associated with the level of self-protection. DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study. SETTING: Primary Care. Rural Health Centre. PARTICIPANTS: Farm-workers and spouses in our Health Area who underwent a health examination. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A questionnaire was designed specifically for the study and filled out by the doctor or nurse at the centre where the person interviewed was registered. 72.8% of the farm-workers had inadequate protection. 79.3% said they had suffered on some occasion symptoms related to pesticide use. CONCLUSIONS: In the rural health areas where there is intensive agriculture, exposure to pesticides is a major health problem, as these substances are hazardous and people applying them wear inadequate protection. Action strategies in this field involve integrating health at work services into health centres. Health education tasks have to be coordinated with the agricultural organisations in the area, such as associations for the defense of plants, cooperatives, etc.