The work and the health of elderly butchers: case reports from a municipal market

• Autor(a) principal: Rios,Marcela Andrade
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Vilela,Alba Benemérita Alves, Nery,Adriana Alves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1809-98232017000500643
• topic: Elderly; Comorbidity; Chronic Disease; Health of the Elderly; Polypharmacy; Self-Perception of Health

Abstract The present study aimed to verify the health and work conditions of seven elderly workers carrying out informal labor activities in a municipal market and to describe the accidents they suffered at work. A qualitative case study was carried out with seven elderly butcher workers from a municipal market in Bahia, Brazil. The participants were men and women with limited schooling (up to high school level in one case), who lived with others at home and had worked for an average of 31 years in the butcher business. Despite the stress involved, such as uncomfortable physical positioning and few days off, all the participants said they were satisfied with their jobs. They were affected by chronic diseases, especially arterial hypertension, and said they were aware of the risks involved in their work. They had suffered accidents at work from finger cuts to amputation. Such workers require activities that promote health and protection from work-related accidents and injuries to avoid the problems that transform the process of senescence into senility.