IntroductionAlthough studies with informal workers have been conducted in Latin America
and the Caribbean, there is still scarce evidence on the prevalence of food
poisoning among workers with subsistence jobs on the streets and sidewalks
of cities and on the factors that influence its presentation.ObjectivesTo determine sociodemographic, labor, sanitary, and environmental conditions
that influence the prevalence of food poisoning in informal workers in
downtown Medellín, Colombia.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study using a workers’ survey as the primary
source. A total of 686 workers aged ≥18 years who had been working
for ≥ 5 years were surveyed. An assisted survey was initially applied
as a pilot test for training purposes and to obtain informed consent.ResultsWe identified several associations and explanatory factors of food poisoning
using chi-square tests and prevalence ratios, with unadjusted and adjusted
95% confidence intervals (95%CI). A higher prevalence of food poisoning (p
< 0.05) was observed in workers with lower frequency of waste collection
(PR = 2.09; 95%CI = 1.04-4.19), who left cooked food (PR = 6.40; 95%CI =
2.34-17.8), beverages or chopped fruits uncovered at their workplace (PR =
3.92; 95%CI = 1.40-10.48), with inadequate waste management (PR = 4.84;
95%CI = 2.12-11.06), exposure to polluted water (PR = 3.00; 95%CI =
1.20-7.50) and acceptable water supply (PR = 5.40; 95%CI = 1.60-17.8). The
factors that explained higher rates of food poisoning were not having a
waste collection service (PRadjusted= 5.58; 95%CI = 3.38-13.10),
inadequate waste management (PRadjusted= 6.61; 95%CI =
1.25-34.84), and having sanitary services next to worker’s stall
(PRadjusted= 14.44; 95%CI = 1.26-165.11).ConclusionsThe conditions that are associated with and explain the higher prevalence of
food poisoning in this working population can be addressed with health
promotion and disease prevention interventions.