Abstract
BackgroundLatin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is the world’s most inequitable region in terms of wealth distribution. The full scale of social inequalities in health has been hidden by the lack of reliable data. This study aimed to measure and compare health inequalities in the working population within and between 15 countries of LAC.MethodsA sample of 180,163 workers aged 18 years and older was drawn from the most recent national surveys of working conditions or health in 15 LAC countries. Poor self-perceived health (P-SPH) was used as a health indicator, and age, education level, and occupational category as inequality stratifiers. We calculated four measures: absolute and relative population-attributable risks, the Kuznets and weighted Keppel indexes.ResultsP-SPH prevalence ranged from 9% in men from Uruguay to 50% in women from Nicaragua. It was higher in women than in men in most countries. A clear gradient was shown, in which young people in non-manual skilled jobs and high education had the lowest prevalence. Nearly 45% of cases that reported P-SPH among men and 35% among women could be avoided if all the groups received a higher level of education. Also, approximately 42% of P-SPH reported by men and 31% by women could be avoided if they all shared the working and employment conditions of non-manual skilled jobs.ConclusionsWide health inequalities were found between occupational and educational groups in LAC. However, country borders appear to be an even more important stratifier in the production of health inequalities. Urgent interventions to improve worker’s health are needed in countries where prevalence of poor self-perceived health is high. Strengthening occupational health surveillance system in LAC countries should become a priority, in order to track the interventions to reduce occupational health inequity.
Highlights
The economic and social growth of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been hampered by enormous social inequalities in the last decades
Prevalence of poor self-perceived health Among the different countries, Poor self-perceived health (P-Self-perceived health (SPH)) prevalence ranged from 9.2% in men from Uruguay to 48% in women from Nicaragua
A clear gradient was observed with both age and educational level, as P-SPH increased with age and decreased with years of study (Fig. 1)
Summary
The economic and social growth of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been hampered by enormous social inequalities in the last decades. Silva-Peñaherrera et al International Journal for Equity in Health (2020) 19:109 on Social Determinants of Health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age are linked to position on the social hierarchy [7]. These condition are generally responsible for health inequities, yet the magnitude and the slope of the gradient can vary within and between countries. Studying the role of paid work, as one of the most important social determinants of health [8], especially in low and middle-income countries, will help us better understand those inequalities. This study aimed to measure and compare health inequalities in the working population within and between 15 countries of LAC
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
