Association between perception of bodily discomfort and individual and work organisational factors in Brazilian slaughterhouse workers: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: Brazil is the world’s second largest poultry meat producer and leading exporter. Many poultry processing tasks are physically demanding and involve factors that increase the risk of developing a work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD). However, little is known about the assessment of bodily discomfort in these workers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between perception of bodily discomfort and individual and work organisational factors in poultry slaughterhouse workers. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING: Three poultry slaughterhouses in the South of Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: This paper included 925 workers of 3 poultry slaughterhouses, 575 women and 350 men. The selection of the participants was random. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Workers were asked about individual factors, work organiation, perception of bodily discomfort and cold, as well as ingestion of pain medication. Crude and adjusted ORs were estimated and 95% CIs were derived from binary logistic regression analysis for perception of bodily discomfort. RESULTS: There was a significant association (p<0.05) between perception of bodily discomfort and female gender (OR=1.77; 95% CI 1.30 to 2.41), performance of repetitive tasks (OR=1.81; 95% CI 1.12 to 2.91) and perception of cold (OR=2.05; 95% CI 1.44 to 2.91). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this research demonstrated that the sector of occupational safety and health management in poultry slaughterhouses should monitor the symptoms of WMSD among their workers, especially female workers, workers who perform repetitive tasks, as well as those who perform tasks in cold environments because these groups are more likely to experience bodily discomfort.