ABSTRACT
Objective:
to apply a socio-environmental approach to the relationship between human health and rural labor through a link verification/association between health disorders and the use of pesticides.
Method:
this is a quantitative, cross-sectional, observational and exploratory study with 331 inhabitants of two cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data analysis was conducted by Poisson regression.
Results:
reported health disorders included: mental (62.2%); circulatory (49.8%); dermatologic (45%); respiratory (41%); and gastric (36.2%). Workers who apply pesticides showed a 90% higher prevalence of dermatological alterations when compared to those who did not.
Conclusion:
the socio-environmental approach, comprising elements of the rural environment, of workers, and of the use of pesticides in the work process in connection/association with potential health disorders has shown that rural workers who apply pesticides present a higher prevalence of dermatological alterations.
Descriptors:
Agrochemicals; Working Environment; Occupational Diseases; Rural Workers; Practical Nursing
