Health and illness in the context of mining in southeastern Pará: a qualitative study

Abstract

Introduction:
In Brazil, mining has experienced a growth in recent years. In the Carajás/Pará region, mineral extraction has progressively assumed relevance in the economy. Namely, in 2020, Pará was responsible for the largest amount (46.8%) of Financial Compensation for Mineral Exploration. Objectives: To analyze the perceptions of professionals involved with mining in Marabá and Paraupebas, both in Pará, about working and health conditions. Methods: This is a descriptive and exploratory research with a qualitative approach carried out with primary data and whose guiding question was “How do mining professionals perceive possible impacts of work activity on their health?”. Interviews were carried out from a semi-structured script between the months of July and September 2021, with as many workers as agreed to participate, whether active or retired. The responses were analyzed in depth through content analysis. Results: Seven male workers were interviewed, with a mean age of 44.9 years. Most respondents (85.7%) had completed high school, with only one having completed elementary school and most reported being married (57.1%). After analyzing the transcripts, three main thematic categories were listed: The Work; Health and Disease Process; The Worker and the Company. Conclusion: It was noticed that workers know the equipment they handle but suffer and become ill because of accidents, musculoskeletal problems, microparticles present in the work environment, experience the deaths of colleagues and some retired due to disability. The physical and mental exhaustion resulting from the work schedules was presented as another impacting factor on health.