Browsing by Autor "Rafael Cervantes Morant"

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Do Bolivian small holder farmers improve and retain knowledge to reduce occupational pesticide poisonings after training on Integrated Pest Management?
(BioMed Central, 2014) Erik Jørs; Flemming Lander; Omar Huici; Rafael Cervantes Morant; Gabriel Guliš; Flemming Konradsen
Impact of Training Bolivian Farmers on Integrated Pest Management and Diffusion of Knowledge to Neighboring Farmers
(Taylor & Francis, 2016) Erik Jørs; Flemming Konradsen; Omar Huici; Rafael Cervantes Morant; Julie Volk; Flemming Lander
Teaching farmers integrated pest management (IPM) in farmer field schools (FFS) has led to reduced pesticide use and safer handling. This article evaluates the long-term impact of training farmers on IPM and the diffusion of knowledge from trained farmers to neighboring farmers, a subject of importance to justify training costs and to promote a healthy and sustainable agriculture. Training on IPM of farmers took place from 2002 to 2004 in their villages in La Paz County, Bolivia, whereas dissemination of knowledge from trained farmer to neighboring farmer took place until 2009. To evaluate the impact of the intervention, self-reported knowledge and practice on pesticide handling and IPM among trained farmers (n = 23) and their neighboring farmers (n = 47) were analyzed in a follow-up study and compared in a cross-sectional analysis with a control group of farmers (n = 138) introduced in 2009. Variables were analyzed using χ2 test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Trained farmers improved and performed significantly better in all tested variables than their neighboring farmers, although the latter also improved their performance from 2002 to 2009. Including a control group showed an increasing trend in all variables, with the control farmers having the poorest performance and trained farmers the best. The same was seen in an aggregated variable where trained farmers had a mean score of 16.55 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.45-17.65), neighboring farmers a mean score of 11.97 (95% CI: 10.56-13.38), and control farmers a mean score of 9.18 (95% CI: 8.55-9.80). Controlling for age and living altitude did not change these results. Trained farmers and their neighboring farmers improved and maintained knowledge and practice on IPM and pesticide handling. Diffusion of knowledge from trained farmers might explain the better performance of the neighboring farmers compared with the control farmers. Dissemination of knowledge can contribute to justify the cost and convince donors and governments in low-income countries to prioritize farmers training.
Occupational pesticide intoxications among farmers in Bolivia: a cross-sectional study
(BioMed Central, 2006) Erik Jørs; Rafael Cervantes Morant; Guido Condarco Aguilar; Omar Huici; Flemming Lander; Jesper Bælum; Flemming Konradsen
The study showed that occupational pesticide intoxications were common among farmers and did depend on multiple factors. Pesticide use is probably one of the largest toxicological problems in Bolivia, and a coordinated action by authorities, society and international bodies is needed to limit the number of intoxications and the environmental pollution.
Suicide attempts and suicides in Bolivia from 2007 to 2012: pesticides are the preferred method – females try but males commit suicide!
(De Gruyter, 2013) Erik Jørs; Mette Christoffersen; Nikoline Høgsgaard Veirum; Guido Condarco Aquilar; Rafael Cervantes Morant; Flemming Konradsen
Abstract Background: Suicide attempts and suicides constitute a significant burden on communities and health systems, especially in low income countries. However, many low income countries lack epidemiological information on which to base future preventive strategies. This study reports on gender and age profiles as well as the likely background and means used for suicide attempts and suicides in Bolivia. Method: This study presents 1124 cases from four different sources of information: (i) emergency ward data with suicide attempts by poisoning from the year 2007, (ii) psychiatric ward data including suicide attempts from July 2011 to July 2012, (iii) newspaper articles reporting attempted suicides and suicides from 2009 to 2011, and (iv) the National Statistics on Crime reporting suicides from the years 2010–2011. Data on age was stratified into three age groups: adolescents aged 10–19 years, young adults aged 20–29 years, and older adults aged above 29 years. Data from the hospital wards and Crime Statistics were pooled to compare characteristics of suicide attempts with suicides concerning age and gender. Data on age, gender, methods used, and reasons were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21. Results: Hospital data showed that more females (403/657, 61%) than males (254/657, 39%) attempted suicide, and females attempted suicide at a younger age than males (p<0.05). In contrast to this, more males (208/293, 70.5%) than females (85/293, 29.5%) committed suicide, and furthermore it was most prevalent among young adults aged 20–29 years of both genders, as observed from the Crime Statistics. The dominant method was pesticide poisoning varying from 400 out of 657 (70.5%) of the hospital poisoning cases to 65 out of 172 (37.8%) of the newspaper cases. Newspaper data showed a higher mortality rate (65/77, 85.1%) among those using violent methods such as hanging and jumping compared to non-violent methods (43/84, 50.9%) such as ingesting chemicals and drugs (p<0.05). The reasons were related to interpersonal problems, economic problems, depression, and unwanted pregnancies. Many cases of suicide seemed to be hidden due to cultural and religious reasons. Conclusion: More females attempted suicide, whereas more males realized suicide. Suicide attempts were most numerous among adolescents in contrast to suicides being most prevalent in the older age groups. Self-poisoning with pesticides was the most popular method used. Access to potential suicide materials should be restricted and psychosocial interventions initiated to prevent suicides.