Promotion of Worker’s Health in Qualitative Research Approaches: A Scoping Review

Abstract

BackgroundIt is known that the investment in promoting health, both at the individual level and at the organizational level can bring benefits to all individuals included in this process. This Scoping Review compares the main results addressed in Brazilian qualitative researches and in other countries that addressed the topic of workers’ health promotion.Methods Thirty-three articles were selected for analysis from the SciELO, BVS - BDENF/Index, PubMed, and LILACS databases. Scientific articles that used a qualitative or quantitative-qualitative approach in Portuguese, English or Spanish, during the period from 2009 to the present moment of our Review (October 2019) were included. This Scoping Review was guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework.Results The literature review allowed the discussion on the following related topics: worker’s social participation in health decisions, perceptions/meanings about health promotion, working conditions and worker’s suffering, working conditions and the risk of illness, worker’s awareness, and changes in lifestyles, employers’ stereotypes about their workers and health promotion, the use of technology in health promotion interventions, the importance of communication in promoting workers’ health and social support at work for carrying out health promotion actions.ConclusionThis study showed differences in the research analyzed and provided the mapping of the main results that may support future research and changes in worker’s health policies in general. While in Brazil, studies are still focused on workers’ perceptions about health promotion and the assessment of working conditions risks to their health, in other countries, most qualitative research has been used to assess workers’ perceptions after a given workplace health promotion intervention.