Health protection and promotion model in agricultural workers: a grounded theory study

Background

Agricultural workers are a vulnerable group intensively exposed to physical, biological, and chemical hazards owing to challenging work and living conditions. These exposures may lead to serious health outcomes, including acute and chronic diseases, poisoning, accidents, injuries, and death, making health protection and promotion in this group an important public health priority. This study aimed to develop a theoretical model for health protection and promotion in agricultural workers.

Methods

This qualitative study used Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory. Data were generated with a total of 20 agricultural workers in a district in southern Türkiye using a semi-structured interview guide. Data collection and analysis were conducted simultaneously until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data analysis involved constant comparison, memo writing, and initial, focused, and theoretical coding. Glaser’s 6C Code Family framework was used to structure the analysis.

Results

Agricultural workers’ perspectives were reflected in the 6C Code Family, with 8 categories and 26 subcategories: conditions included individual self-care behaviors and access to health services; causes included individual attitudes; consequences included physical and psychosocial health outcomes; contexts included working conditions and environmental factors, social roles and cultural pressures, and structural barriers and insecurity; contingencies included environmental and unexpected risks; and covariances included the cyclical relationships between these findings.

Conclusions

This study shows that health protection and promotion in agricultural workers are shaped not only by individual behaviors but also by precarious working conditions, environmental and chemical exposures, gender roles, barriers to accessing health services, and structural conditions. The developed model may contribute to the planning of integrated public health interventions by addressing these factors.

Key messages

• Protecting and promoting agricultural workers’ health is multifaceted, shaped by factors such as work conditions, environmental risks, social roles, cultural pressures, and healthcare barriers.

• The developed theoretical model may guide public health interventions for agricultural workers across individual, environmental, social, and structural levels.