Abstract

MAGALHAES, Yasmim et al. Systematic review: mental health of urban solid waste management workers. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2023, vol.24, n.1, pp.351-363.  Epub June 30, 2023. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/23psd240130.

The relationship between work and mental health requires a complex and expanded investigation of intra- and inter- subjective factors, forms of work organization and the distribution of socioeconomic factors that feed social inequalities in neglected populations. In this scenario, we can mention the waste pickers, which although they exercise an important activity for the development of society, they are exposed to living and working conditions that generate damage to the health and well-being of themselves. As a proposal to investigate aspects of mental health related to living conditions and psychosocial demands among workers in the management of urban solid waste, this study is a systematic review of the literature, aiming to analyze other studies between 2009 and 2020 with the main source being: SCOPUS, Web of Science and the Virtual Health Library (VHL). The aforementioned studies have shown that the precariousness of work bonds and that the end object of their activity (garbage) promotes feelings of worthlessness and social stigmas that foster processes of psychological distress. Physical injuries, stress, low pay, work overload and insecurity were factors related to psychosomatic symptoms. Given the lack of scientific material that observes the mental health of this group, this study is therefore a deeper investigation to potentially enable the application of health technologies and political agendas that can improve the quality of life of this population.

Keywords : Solid waste segregation; Occupational risks; Exposures; Hazards; Mental health.

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