Work process, workloads and workers’ health in sericulture: a review

Abstract

Introduction: sericulture is the activity of rearing silkworms (Bombyx mori). In Brazil it is usually developed by small farmers.

Objective: to examine the relationship between work and health-disease process among sericiculturists. Methods: literature integrative review conducted in Medline, SciELO, Scopus and CAPES.

Results: fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria; nine of them allowed the identification of processes and workloads related to this work activity, and the other six, the associated diseases. These studies identified as workloads: Physical – humidity, ventilation, temperature and weather; chemical – use of fertilizers, formaldehyde, hydrated lime and fungicide; mechanical – the risk of accidents with equipment; organic - fungi, bacteria, virus and insects; physiological – physical exertion, night work, long workday; work psychic – pace and intensity, task responsibility. There were also related respiratory diseases, allergies, eye irritation, injury, backaches and headaches.

Conclusion: despite the potential problems relating to the health of sericulture workers, there are no researches specifically on this subject in Brazil, showing the need for further studies to fill the gaps.

Keywords:
worker’s health; workload; working conditions; sericulture; rural worker