Diagnosis of waste management and health symptoms in a market square in an urban area of southwestern Colombia

Abstract

The La Esmeralda marketplace is located in Popayán (Cauca), a municipality in southwestern Colombia. It is a place where agricultural products are supplied and is considered a critical point due to waste management and the deterioration of its environment, which mainly affects traders in the area. The objective was to evaluate waste management and identify the most common health symptoms in the traders of the sector. Descriptive research was carried out using a checklist, surveys, interviews and narratives with merchants in the plaza. The information col-lected was systematized using Microsoft Excel and imported into the BioEstat 5.0 program to analyze the socio-demographic and occupational variables and to perform Chi2 tests to compare the relationship between socio-demographic conditions, lifestyle, waste management and symptoms presented. A non-compliance of 67% for plans and programs and 90% for environmental aspects is established, reflecting in a significant way the organiza-tional problem regarding environmental programs in the market place. In terms of health, 75% of the traders had gastrointestinal symptoms, 65.6% diarrhea and 53.12% nausea or vomiting. Inadequate waste disposal was identi-fied as a factor that could aggravate environmental and health problems in the sector. In addition, it was found that 65.6% of the merchants did not receive training in waste management, highlighting the need for environmental education strategies on proper waste management and disposal, which should be implemented on an ongoing basis for merchants and the general population, in order to improve health conditions, promote self-care and reduce vulnerability to disease.