This paper discusses the partial results of qualitative research on lifestyles and meanings attributed to health and work among settlers from the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST) and identifies strategies developed by workers to maintain and/or promote health. The study was conducted in a rural settlement affiliated with the MST in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The ergological approach was the main theoretical and methodological reference for understanding work from the perspective of "human activity". The study techniques included document analysis, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, and the data were submitted to thematic content analysis. The landless rural workers attributed the meanings of freedom and satisfaction to their work, associated with self-management and autonomy, which they reported as key elements for health. Although rural work was considered tiring, the work and way of life in the settlement provided this community with possibilities for ensuring their health and resisting the hegemonic agribusiness model.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.