Abstract

A STUDY ON MORBIDITY PROFILE OF SCISSOR MANUFACTURING WORKERS

Introduction: In India, the life of the vulnerable and the marginalized working population is at risk as there is a lack of awareness about occupational safety and environmental hazards. The scissor manufacturing workers sector is one of the important but unorganized parts of industry of India and mainly run by private establishments. The scissors manufacturing workers hardly ever benefit from occupational health and safety provisions. Materials and methods: The present community based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 218 scissor manufacturing workers of small scale industry of urban slum area, Malvani in South Mumbai. The study period was from June 2010 to September 2010. Results: In the present study, 52.75% workers were in the age group of 20-30 yrs followed by in the age group of 30-40 yrs (32.57%). Majority, 92.66% were males. Regarding the history of addiction, 77.52% workers were using tobacco related products. The commonest health problem present in workers was acute respiratory infection (ARI) (34.86%) followed by musculoskeletal problems in 25.68% workers. Conclusion: As scissor manufacturing workers suffering from various morbidities, it is necessary to monitor the occupational environment and health status of the workers periodically. It is also necessary to create awareness regarding the ill effects of industrial hazards.

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