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Physically Demanding Labor and Health Among Indigenous Women in the Ecuadorian Highlands

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Abstract

Physically demanding work carried out during long workdays affects women’s health. In rural and agrarian societies, women perform a variety of domestic and productive tasks, often from dawn to dusk, with little or no leisure time. This paper presents the results of a survey of indigenous women in six rural communities in the Ecuadorian highlands. It was conducted to measure the amount of time women spend on physically demanding work in the context of food security, parity outcomes, and access to prenatal health care. The findings demonstrate that these women work very long workdays and also experience food insecurity and poor access to prenatal health care.

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Acknowledgements

Funding was provided by Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad San Francisco de Quito, P.O. Box 17-12-841, Quito, Ecuador

    William F. Waters, Jessica Ehlers & Fernando Ortega

  2. Salus Center, St. Louis University, 309, 3545 Lafayette Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA

    Anne Sebert Kuhlmann

Authors
  1. William F. Waters
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  2. Jessica Ehlers
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  3. Fernando Ortega
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  4. Anne Sebert Kuhlmann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to William F. Waters.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

This study was made possible by a Collaboration Grant from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. The authors are grateful to the women who participated in the study and to two dedicated field workers.

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Waters, W.F., Ehlers, J., Ortega, F. et al. Physically Demanding Labor and Health Among Indigenous Women in the Ecuadorian Highlands. J Community Health 43, 220–226 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0407-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0407-7

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