Musculoskeletal pain and occupational vulnerability in municipal public sector workers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract

This article seeks to describe the profile of workers in the municipal public sector in relation to the occurrence of self-reported musculoskeletal pain (MSP). In 2009, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Belo Horizonte that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, functional health status, habits and quality of life, through a self-applied questionnaire. We used the Grade of Membership method (GoM) to define the profiles and the degree of belonging to each particular profile. Three reference profiles were identified: worker with pain; worker without pain, non-respondents. Given the reference profiles, the typology of association between work and self-reported occurrence of MSP classified 89.9% of the sample. The typology was organized into five profiles: mixed (4.1%); sick worker (12.0%); worker more vulnerable to MSP (16.9%); worker less vulnerable to MSP (22.6%); healthy worker (34.3%). The analysis made it possible to clarify the connections between MSP and the physical and psychosocial factors at work in the municipal public service, indicating avenues for further reflection on the inequities in musculoskeletal health and occupational vulnerability.