title: [Nobody gives orders here: the meanings of work and health for settlers from the Landless Rural Workers' Movement].
abstract: This paper discusses the partial results of qualitative research on lifestyles and meanings attributed to health and work among settlers from the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST) and identifies strategies developed by workers to maintain and/or promote health. The study was conducted in a rural settlement affiliated with the MST in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The ergological approach was the main theoretical and methodological reference for understanding work from the perspective of "human activity". The study techniques included document analysis, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, and the data were submitted to thematic content analysis. The landless rural workers attributed the meanings of freedom and satisfaction to their work, associated with self-management and autonomy, which they reported as key elements for health. Although rural work was considered tiring, the work and way of life in the settlement provided this community with possibilities for ensuring their health and resisting the hegemonic agribusiness model.
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. jcborges83@gmail.com
authors.forename: Júlio César Borges dos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Elida Azevedo
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hennington
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D006304:Health Status; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D007750:Labor Unions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009042:Motivation; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012424:Rural Population; D012924:Social Conditions