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Informal jobs: another occupational hazard for women's mental health?
V S Santana1, D Loomis, B Newman
1Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Programa Integrado de Saúde do Trabalhador-PISAT, Salvador/Bahia, Brazil.
Objectives:
The hypothesis that informal jobs, which imply absence of formal labour contracts, instability and the absence of fringe benefits, are positively associated with psychiatric symptoms was evaluated in a poor urban area of Brazil.
Methods:
With data from a cross-sectional study, the association between informal jobs and high number of psychological symptoms was estimated. The study population was composed of 327 women randomly selected from a community in the city of Salvador, Brazil. Women who reported having a job without a formal contract were classified as informal workers. Psychological symptoms were collected through a validated questionnaire, the QMPA.
Results:
A positive association between informal work and a high number of psychological symptoms was found (crude prevalence ratio = 1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24-2.85). More than 4 hours of housework a day and being a family head were confounders, although adjustment for these variables did not significantly change the results (adjusted prevalence ratio = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.26-3.09).
Conclusions:
These findings are suggestive that informal work may be a risk for mental symptoms. Reinforcement of universal labour rights coverage and improvement in housework sharing are recommended.