Working Conditions, Workplace Violence, and Psychological Distress in Andean Miners: A Cross-sectional Study Across Three Countries

Abstract

Background: Psychosocial working conditions are well-known determinants of poor mental health. However, studies in mining populations where employment and working conditions are frequently precarious have, to our knowledge, only focused on occupational accidents and diseases.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess psychosocial working conditions and psychological distress in Andean underground miners.

Methods: The study population consisted of 153 Bolivian miners working in a silver mining cooperative, 137 Chilean informal gold miners, and 200 formal Peruvian silver miners employed in a remote setting. High work demands, minimal work control, minimal social support at work, and workplace exposure to violence and bullying were assessed using the Spanish short form of the European Working Condition Survey. A general health questionnaire score >4 was used as cutoff for psychological distress. Associations between psychosocial work environment and psychological distress were tested using logistic regression models controlling for potential confounding and effect modification by country.

Findings: Prevalence of psychological distress was 82% in the Bolivian cooperative miners, 29% in the Peruvian formal miners, and 22% in the Chilean informal miners (pχ(2) < 0.001). 55% of the miners had suffered violence during the 12-months before the survey. Workplace demands were high (median 12.5 on a scale from 7-14), as was social support (median 5.5 on a scale from 3-6). After adjustment for country and other relevant exposure variables and considering interactions between country and job strain, miners in active (odds ratio [OR], 6.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1-22.7) and high strain jobs (OR, 7.2; 95% CI, 1.7-29.9) were at increased odds of distress compared with those in low strain jobs. Violence at work also contributed to increased odds of distress (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.1-3.1).

Conclusions: Psychological distress is associated with the psychosocial work environment in Andean underground miners. Interventions in mining populations should take the psychosocial work environment into account.

Keywords: Karasek; developing countries; epidemiology; mental health; precarious employment.