Condiciones de trabajo y morbilidad percibidas entre mineros de carbón en Guachetá, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: In Colombia research on working conditions and health in coal mining is scarce, and does not consider the perception of the exposed population and its behavior against the inherent risks. Objective: To determine the association between perceived working conditions and morbidity among coal miners in Guachetá, Cundinamarca. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 154 workers randomly selected from the total of registered miners at the municipal government. We inquired about sociodemographic characteristics and working and health conditions in mines. Prevalence of respiratory, musculoskeletal and hearing disorders were estimated, and bivariate and multiple associations between certain conditions and events (with prevalence greater than 30%) were explored with Poisson regressions with robust variance. Results: Workers were mostly men, aged 18 and 77 years old. The health problems most frequently reported were back pain (46.10%), upper limb pain (40.26%), lower limb pain (34.42%), respiratory (17.53%) and hearing disorders (13.64%). There are significant differences in perception depending on the seniority and underground/non-underground work. Conclusion: The most recognized risks were related with musculoskeletal disorders that appear evidently in their daily lives. Further activities in occupational health may consider these findings in their plans for prevention of disease in Colombian coal mines.