Title: Occupational health morbidities and associated socio-demographic variables among street sweepers in a metropolitan city

Abstract

Background: Work related safety and health hazards are a major public health concern worldwide and are under-researched especially in low and middle income countries. Aims: To study the socio demographic profile of the street sweepers , to assess the morbidities prevalent among the street sweepers in a metropolitan city and to study the association between socio demographic variables and various morbidities. To analyze the knowledge, attitude and practice among the street sweepers and to suggest preventive measures to improve the health of street sweepers. Study Design : A cross sectional study Methods: The study was conducted for a period of two months amongst100 street sweepers in the age group of 18 to 60 years working under Municipal Corporation A questionnaire was formulated and validated by a pilot study before the start of the study. Moreover, thorough general, clinical and systemic examination was done to find out morbidities Exposure to any sort of occupational hazards if any was also noted. Results: The most common morbidities observed amongst street sweepers were skin problems (91%) followed by musculoskeletal disorders (88%) predominantly in males belonging to the age group of 40-50 years. Moreover musculoskeletal disorders were more common above 40 years (91% ) while skin problems were more common below 40 years of age (95.5%). The prevalence of anemia was found to be relatively higher in females with low socio economic background (6.7%). Additionally, illiteracy was a risk factor for respiratory symptoms (14.7%). This could be due to overcrowded dwellings, ill ventilated houses and poor sanitation. It was also observed that greater the duration of services, more is the risk of morbidities like musculoskeletal disorders (88.5%), respiratory disorders (11.5%), hypertension (6.4%) and cardiovascular disorders (1.3%). As far as knowledge, attitude and practice is concerned, majority of the study subjects had fairly good knowledge about hand washing (92%), importance of using protective devices (80%) and health hazards related to sweeping (45%). Perception of the street sweepers was excellent in respect to hand washing (92%), regular use of personal protective devices (71%) and motivating co-workers regarding safety measures (96%). Conclusion: Periodic health check up of workers should be done biannually and immediate corrective measures should be taken to protect the health of the employees at risk. Safety training and reorientation programs should also be conducted for the street sweepers periodically.