Quality of life of Brazilian industrial workers: A review article

Abstract

Workers in general have their quality of life affected; however, in the industrial setting, they are exposed to poor and unhealthy conditions in their workplaces and to different occupational hazards depending on their role, sector of activity, and climatic conditions. This study aimed to analyze the quality of life of Brazilian industrial workers. This is an integrative review. The PICo strategy was used to prepare the research question, and each letter represents one component of the question - population (P), workers; interest (I), quality of life; and context (Co), Brazilian industry. The search and selection process was conducted in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and PubMed databases. The search was conducted from August to September 2019, and studies published in the past 10 years were selected. In most workers, work-related QL deficits were identified mainly in the domains of general health and vitality in the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and of social relationships and environment in the World Health Organization Quality of Life short version (WHOQOL-Bref). The factors that represented risks for quality of life included exposure to noise in the workplace, repetitive strain injury/work-related musculoskeletal disorders, occupational low back pain, occupational stress, and work-related fatigue. Few studies assessing quality of life of industrial workers were found. The reviewed studies showed that quality of life deficits are related to vitality, physical functioning, general health, environment, and psychological health of these workers.