Workers in agriculture represent about one-quarter of all workers in the world. Agriculture embodies the essential human activity of producing food. Working in agriculture can be very rewarding, but it can be challenging as well and even hazardous. For this reason, there is an urgent need to provide high-quality basic health care for all workers in agriculture.
The focus of the book is on health and safety problems. The book is intended for doctors, nurses, hygienists, community health workers, and medically interested volunteers in primary, community, and occupational health care. The book can be useful for experts in farmers’ and workers’ organizations, and for students. Basic medical background is helpful as medical terms could not be avoided. The authors tried to explain technical terms where possible.
Evidence-based information and tools are presented on how to prevent, diagnose, and treat health problems caused by work in agriculture. The authors not only discuss specific diseases and risk factors, but also skills to handle occupational health problems. The emphasis is on conditions in low and middle-income countries. This approach is in line with the concept of Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS) which should be available for all workers as recommended by WHO, ILO, ICOH, and WONCA (World Organization of Family Doctors). The book contains 160 pages, is well-illustrated, has a comprehensive index, and is free-of-charge.
Maarten Verberk and Frank van Dijk wrote the book collaborating with a team of LDOH experts. Positive comments on the prefinal version and suggestions for improvement were given by experts from all over the world.
Freely available educational materials for a course with interactive lessons are in development. The authors think of a course of three days. The lessons can be offered separately as well. When a course will be prepared, the organizers may want to translate the materials and adapt parts of the text to the local situation.
The book is produced by Foundation Learning and Developing Occupational Health (LDOH) in The Netherlands.
