Butcher's quality of life evaluation with the WHOQOL-bref.

BACKGROUND:There is a global shortage of individuals for jobs that require special skills and techniques, such as butchers. As a result, the available workers are overloaded, which might impair their quality of life. OBJECTIVE:To assess the quality of life of butchers working for a network of butcher shops in Sao Paulo. METHOD:Cross-sectional observational study with a selected group of butchers and a control group, with age ranging from 18 to 45 years old and from both genders. A quality of life questionnaire (World Health Organization Quality of Life, bref - WHOQOL-bref) was applied to a sample of 50 butchers and 50 controls. RESULTS:The scores for butchers were statistically significantly lower in all quality of life variables, except for self-assessment compared to the controls (p<0.05) even after adjustment for characteristics differing between the groups. CONCLUSION:The present study provides data poorly investigated in other studies, and suggests that assessment of the perception of the quality of life of butchers should continue.