Occupational health in Ecuador: a comparison with Latin-American surveys on working conditions

Abstract

Introduction: Ecuador has recently implemented its First Working Conditions Survey. Objective: to describe working and employment conditions and workers’ health status in Ecuador in a sample that allows comparison with previous Latin American surveys. Methods: a sample of 1,713 workers was drawn from the First Working Conditions Survey in Ecuador. Prevalence and a 95% confidence Interval (95%CI) were calculated and compared with previous Latin American surveys in Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Central America, and Uruguay. Results: men were more often exposed to hazardous working conditions, with noise (81% of men and 69% of women), and repetitive movements (56% and 48%, respectively) being the most frequently reported. About 31% of men and 19% of women worked more than 40 hours per week. Almost 11% of both women and men reported poor self-perceived health status. The prevalence of occupational injury was the highest in the region: 15% for men and 8.4% for women. Conclusions: this is a first approach to the working and employment conditions and workers’ health status in Ecuador. To harmonize and improve Working Conditions Surveys in Latin America should be a priority goal for enhancing regional occupational health surveillance.