Impacto do estresse na saúde de cortadores de cana

Abstract

OBJECTIVEEvaluate the impact of stress on sugar cane cutters and the prevalence of physical and psychological symptoms before and after harvest.METHODSWe studied 114 sugarcane cutters and 109 urban workers in the pre-harvest and 102 sugar cane cutters and 81 urban workers in the post-harvest period in the city of Mendonça, SP, Southeastern Brazil, in 2009. Data analysis was based on the frequency and percentage of the assessed symptoms of stress, using the Lipp-ISSL test (Symptoms of Stress for Adults). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Fisher Test was used to compare the variable of stress between pre- and post-harvest within the sugar cane cutter and urban worker groups. P values below 0.05 were considered significant.RESULTSStress in sugar cane cutters increased after harvesting (34.2% pre-harvest and 46.1% post-harvest); in urban workers, stress decreased from 44.0% pre-harvest to 42.0% post-harvest. There was prevalence of the phase of resistance to stress for both groups with signs more apparent from the near-exhaustion and exhaustion phases for sugar cane cutters. After harvest, there was a tendency for the number of sugar cane cutters with symptoms of near-exhaustion (6.4%) and exhaustion (10.6%) to increase. After harvest there was a trend for the number of sugar cane cutters with physical symptoms (pre-harvest = 20.5%, post-harvest = 25.5%) and psychological symptoms (pre-harvest = 64.1%; post-harvest = 70.2%) to increase. For both groups, predominantly psychological symptoms occurred in both phases (70.2% versus 64.7%).CONCLUSIONSThe work process of cutting cane can cause stress. Individual factors such as cognitive perception of the experience, self-efficacy beliefs and expectations of the employee regarding their performance can influence the understanding of the reactions in their body in face of the work.

Sugarcane cutting work, risks, and health effects

“… Carvalho-Junior et al 65 (2012) Longitudinal study Health-related quality of life assessment of 44 sugarcane cutters from the West of the State of São Paulo, Brazil Quality of life, measured by questionnaire, was reduced at the end of the harvest period. Priuli et al 66 (2014) Longitudinal study Stress levels and prevalence of physical and mental symptoms in 114 sugarcane workers State de São Paulo, Brazil The work process of the cane cutter can cause stress, symptoms of burn out, exhaustion, physical and psychological symptoms after the harvest period. Ferreira-Ceccato et al 67 (2014) Cross-sectional retrospective descriptive study Frequency of sick leave due to occupational diseases by sugarcane cutters State de São Paulo, Brazil Musculoskeletal diseases followed by respiratory diseases at the end of the harvest were more prevalent.…”

Enriching the results of screening social life cycle assessment using content analysis: a case study of sugarcane in Brazil

“…Wounds caused by exhaustion, fatigue, spinal diseases, and high psychological stress are reported. Injuries and death records due to exhaustion are reported too (Junior et al 2012;Luz et al 2012;Priuli et al 2014;Rocha et al 2010); c) Preharvest burning is reported to be related to the increase of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and renal dysfunction (Santos et al 2015); d) Requirements for protection equipment are considered well-regulated and implemented (Hermele 2011a;Rocha et al 2010). Local employment a) Increasing mechanization rate of sugarcane harvesting is causing job loss, especially for low-schooling and unskilled workers (Guilhoto et al 2002;Smeets et al 2008;Macedo 2007;Moraes 2007;Moraes et al 2015;Walter et al 2011;Hall et al 2009;Lehtonen 2010;ELLA 2012;Duarte et al 2013;Viana and Perez 2013); b) Governments and the industry association have established training programs for the replaced workers (Amaral 2011); c) Demand for skilled labour as drivers, mechanics and technicians have increased (Duarte et al 2013;Moraes 2007).…”

“…For manual harvesting, the social theme with the highest potential impact is "occupational health and safety". Exhaustion, back pain, occupational injuries due to fatigue, and high psychological stress have been reported among sugarcane cutters (Rocha et al 2010;Priuli et al 2014). This results from the pressure on sugarcane cutters to achieve high productivity: productivity of sugarcane cutters has increased from 6 tonnes/day to 12 tonnes/day in the past decades in order to be competitive with the productivity of mechanical harvesting.…”

Prevalência da síndrome de Burnout entre professores da Escola Estadual em Niterói, Brasil

“…O sintoma surge como uma resposta do organismo a uma situação considerada conflitante. O estresse também pode ser entendido como reação do organismo associada a componentes psicológicos, físicos e hormonais, em situações com necessidade de grande adaptação a um evento importante 1 . O estresse no trabalho, chamado de estresse ocupacional, refere-se à dificuldade de adaptação às demandas existentes no trabalho e àquelas que o próprio indivíduo identifica 2,3 .…”