Occupational health hazards among automobile mechanics working in an urban area of Bangalore –a cross sectional study
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health - Year 2017, Vol 6, Issue 1
Abstract
Background: Occupational health deals with all aspects of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards. Road side automobile mechanics belong to the informal sector of a developing country like India. There are various hazards in the occupational environment to which mechanics may be exposed, like work-related injuries, chronic illness, stress and, disability because of their low literacy rates, following unsafe practices, unfamiliarity with work process and exposures, and inadequate training. Objectives: 1. To assess the occupational health hazards among roadside automobile mechanics in an urban area of Bangalore 2. To assess the awareness of personal protective equipments among automobile mechanics. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out for a period of 3 months, during September, October and November 2015 among 150 mechanics working at the automobile workshops in an urban area of Bangalore. Data was collected using a pre-tested, validated, semi-structured, indigenous, interviewer based questionnaire. Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS 21 software. Descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, pie diagrams and bar charts were used wherever necessary. Result: Musculoskeletal diseases were the most commonly reported health problems by the mechanics (n = 93, 62%), followed by cuts and injuries (n = 87, 58%). The commonest known personal protective equipment (PPE) were eye goggles (n = 131, 87.3%) and hand gloves (n = 120, 80%). Conclusion: Proper education of this economically viable group on workplace hazards, the types and properties of the different protective devices in order to safeguard their health is needed.
Authors and Affiliations
Selvi Thangaraj, Nimra Shireen
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP294825
- DOI 10.5455/ijmsph.2016.31052016540
- Views 65
- Downloads 0
Opinion regarding the ban of alcohol sale among the adult population residing in a semi-urban area near Chennai - A cross-sectional study
Background: Alcoholism is one of the major public health problems in both developed and developing countries. Conventionally, governments design and implement various measures to combat the alcohol menace for the benefit...
Effect of training among health care workers on change in knowledge regarding biomedical waste management according to new rules of 2016
Background: Adequate knowledge about the health hazards of hospital waste, proper techniques and methods of handling the waste, and practice of safety measures can improve the safe disposal of hazardous hospital waste an...
Utility of measuring Exhaled Carbon Monoxide (ECO) level in addition to Pulmonary Function Test (Spirometry) in the monitoring of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Background: The measurement of ECO may represent a new method for the non-invasive monitoring of airway inflammation and oxidant stress in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, asthma, bronchiectasis, cystic fibr...
Carotid artery intimal media thickness and ankle brachial index as predictors for atherosclerosis in pre-diabetic patients
Background: Atherosclerosis still remains as the major cause of death and premature disability in developed societies. Insulin resistance is a central pathogenesis feature of prediabetes, the incidence of which is rising...
Prevalence of self-reported diabetes mellitus in an urban population
Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now becoming major public health issues in developing and developed countries. Type 2 diabetes mellitus, being a part of the NCD group, is also showing an upward trend...