[The rural labor process and health in the Southern Brazilian mountains: a descriptive study]. / Processo de produção rural e saúde na serra gaúcha: um estudo descritivo.

This cross-sectional study among rural workers in the mountainous region of the southernmost Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul was designed to identify the characteristics of work performed on family farms. The research focused on the socio-demographic profiles of rural workers, identifying the characteristics of rural labor and describing the prevalence of some disease entities in such populations. Some 1479 rural workers from 495 farms were interviewed. In this sample, 87% of the individuals were members of the farm-owning family, mean age was 41 years, 56% were males, and mean schooling was 5 years. Farms had a mean area of 37 hectares, 50% had at least one type of farm machinery, and fruits constituted the main crop. About 75% of workers handled several types of pesticides, while 12% reported at least one lifetime episode of pesticide poisoning. Prevalence of minor psychiatric disorders was 36%, and annual frequency of occupational injuries was 10%. There was a wide variety of activities and occupational risks. The high prevalence of health problems identified in the study calls attention to the need for measures to promote and protect rural workers' health.

Child labor and health: problems and perspectives.

Child labor remains a widespread problem. Although it can have positive effects, in some situations it has negative effects on health and development of the children. Although mainly a problem in developing countries, it is also possible to find child workers, some working in hazardous activities, in developed countries. The authors describe the child labor profiles in developed and developing countries, the principal occupations of children, and their concomitant hazards. They summarize the epidemiologic evidence for a greater impact of some occupational exposures on the health of children as compared with adults, and the theoretical concerns about the impact of child labor on health, and suggest policies that can be used to combat harmful child labor.

[A cross-sectional study about mental health of farm-workers from Serra Gaucha (Brazil)]. / Estudo transversal sobre saúde mental de agricultores da Serra Gaúcha (Brasil).

OBJECTIVE: In view of the shortage of population-based rural studies, this research project evaluated the associations between the characteristics of rural work and the occurrence of minor psychiatric disorders (MPD). METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out on the 1,282 farm workers of 446 farms. Information about the farms (land extension, agricultural activities, technology and pesticide use) was collected. Demographic and socioeconomic data, characteristics of the work process and mental health indicators were obtained from the workers. RESULTS: MPD were found in 37.5% of the farm workers. The risk was higher on farms with a land extension of from 26 to 50 hectares, and lower where there was an increased level of job technology and schooling. The prevalence of MPD was higher among bean producers and lower among apple producers. Despite the impossibility of defining the direction of the causal link, pesticide poisoning was strongly associated with MPD. CONCLUSION: The results call attention to the dimension of the problem and to the importance of adopting new policies for the protection of farm workers' mental health.

[Workers' perception of exposure to workload and risks of accidents in a southern Brazilian city]. / Percepção de exposição a cargas de trabalho e riscos de acidentes em Pelotas, RS (Brasil).

OBJECTIVE: The study of the association between workers' perceptions of occupational hazards and the risk of occupational accidents. DESIGN: Case control study. POPULATION: The cases were 264 workers who presented a "typical" occupational accident, registered at the National Institute of Social Security in the city of Pelotas, between January and July, 1996. Fatal accidents (two) were excluded, as were those leading to an absence of less than seven days from work. The cases were interviewed in their homes with a standard questionnaire. For each case, three controls were chosen: a fellow-work, a neighbor and a population control. Controls were matched to the cases by age (+/- 5 years) and sex; workers who had suffered an occupational accident in the preceding month were excluded from the control group. All cases and controls were formally employed and lived in the urban area. The data were analyzed using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The risk of occupational accidents was found to double among workers who reported having faced emergency situations at work, working in high places, facing constant danger or noisy environments. Working in uncomfortable positions or intense physical activities were associated with a 50% increase in risk. The remaining occupational hazards under study were not significantly associated with the risk of accidents. All of the above results were adjusted for confounding factors.

The Brazilian cohort of pulp and paper workers: the logistic of a cancer mortality study.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) proposed this international historical cohort study trying to solve the controversy about the increased risk of cancer in the workers of the Pulp and Paper Industry. One of the most important aspects presented by this study in Brazil was the strategies used to overcome the methodological challenges, such as: data access, data accuracy, data availability, multiple data sources, and the large follow-up period. Through multiple strategies it was possible to build a Brazilian cohort of 3,622 workers, to follow them with a 93 percent success rate and to identify in 99 percent of the cases the cause of death. This paper, has evaluated the data access, data accuracy and the effectiveness of the strategies used and the different sources of data.