Child labor is an infraction of fundamental human rights, and it prevents the children's physical, psychosocial, and psychological development. In India, children have been working in different unorganized sectors as paid laborers. Children were found performing a fair amount of manual, rigorous tasks in the brickfield industry due to socioeconomic disadvantages. Child brickfield workers suffered from musculoskeletal pain and injuries due to working with a heavy physical workload, which hampers the overall quality of life. A study had been conducted among these child brickfield laborers from India during 2011-2017. The study found laceration (38.7% male and 36.9% female) as the primary injury followed by sprain and strain, scratches, avulsion, and fractures among child brickfield workers. The study shows that child workers are highly prone to injuries, mainly toe (23.9% male and 28.1% female), hands (22.0% male and 23.4% female), wrists, feet, ankles, and fingers. The injury rate among male and female child brickfield laborers was 7.64 and 9.52 per 1000 workers. The primary source of injuries in brickfields was due to falling from height. Several risk factors, including biomechanical, work stress, may play a key role in work-related injuries among child brickfield laborers.
The main aim of the study was to determine the nature and extent of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and physiological and thermal working stress among the groundnut farmers. In the present investigation, eighty-five groundnut farmers were recruited from the villages of Tarakeswar of West Bengal, India. Eighty-five control office workers were also selected as a control group. The modified Nordic questionnaire and a posture analysis using the OWAS method were applied in the case of groundnut farmers. The working environment and physiological stress of the groundnut cultivators were also assessed. The analysis of working posture indicated that most of the groundnut cultivation activities needed corrective measures as soon as possible. Most of the groundnut farmers suffered from discomfort at different parts of the body, especially at the lower back (99%), knee (92%), ankle (66%), shoulder (61%) and hand (60%) regions. This study also showed that groundnut farmers suffered from excessive thermal (33.4 degrees C) and physiological stress (heart rate rose up to 121.5 beats/min, systolic and diastolic blood pressure up to 132 and 80 mm/Hg, respectively, PEFR values are 403 lit/min) which affects their health. From the observation and analysis of the results, it was concluded that the health of the groundnut farmers was highly affected by improper body postures and work-load. Twisting, bending, and awkward postures during work could lead to musculoskeletal disorders among them.
In India, particularly in West Bengal, preadolescents are primarily associated with agricultural work in rural areas. Owing to poor socio-economic conditions, they are compelled to carry out a considerable number of manual, rigorous tasks in agricultural fields. The main aim of this study was to investigate postures adopted by preadolescent agricultural workers during individual agricultural activities and to analyze the causes of discomfort related to those postures. Fifty male and 50 female preadolescent agricultural workers were randomly selected and a detailed posture analysis was performed with the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS). It was observed that those workers worked continuously in awkward postures during certain agricultural activities. Consequently they suffered from discomfort in different parts of their body. Even though they were very young, they were likely to suffer from serious musculoskeletal disorders in the future.
It is important to understand what motivates workers and the extent to which the organization and other contextual variables satisfy them. The aim of the study was to determine factors of dissatisfaction resulting from the organizational culture among the blacksmiths involved in the surgical instrument industry.Fifty male surgical blacksmiths each of the skilled and unskilled groups of the forging section were selected. Organizational Role Stress Scale was used to measure the individuals' role stress and several forms of conflict within an organization. Also, the organizational culture and personal involvement in an organization was measured among the surgical blacksmiths.The mean score for total role stress for Skilled was 71.7 and for unskilled was 77.2. The most frequent type of organizational culture was reported to be hierarchy, both by skilled and unskilled surgical blacksmiths, followed by market and clan culture.This study shows that the skilled surgical blacksmiths have lower level of stress and conflicts in comparison with unskilled surgical blacksmiths. Both skilled and unskilled surgical blacksmiths estimated their level of personal involvement as low and indicated insufficient involvement in work teams. The satisfaction of the employees with their status and role in the organizational culture was also poor for both skilled and unskilled surgical blacksmiths.
The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) among brick field workers and to explore attributed causes of LBP, investigate the relationship between LBP and psychophysical and psychosocial factors and measure the impact of LBP. A modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorder Questionnaire along with Body Part Discomfort scale were administered to brick field workers (N = 148). Working posture of the participants was assessed using Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method. The study showed that 70 % of the female workers reported LBP due to awkward working posture for prolonged period of time. This was mainly reported by brick moulders. 45 % reported LBP due to manual material handling (MMH) and 40 % due to awkward lifting of heavy objects (brick). The study shows that the LBP is more prevalent (OR 1.59 and 95 % CI 0.411–6.207). 78 % of the female workers want the job rotation to relieve from their job monotony. LBP occurred among female workers due to awkward posture, repetitive work and MMH. This study also stated that psychosocial cause of LBP is inadequacy income, monotony work, job dissatisfaction. Working posture analysis REBA suggests that all the working postures are high-risk level.
Children are universally considered to be the most important asset for any nation. The main aims of the present study were 1) to investigate the causation of discomfort related to working postures 2) to assess the physiological strain among the child farmers and 3) to assess the thermal stress during work in an agricultural field.For this study, 120 child agricultural workers and 120 control subjects aged 10-16 years were selected randomly, and a detailed posture analysis was performed among them by REBA and OWAS methods. The Modified Nordic Questionnaire was applied to assess the discomfort felt among both groups of workers. Physiological assessment of workload was carried out by recording the heart rate and blood pressure of the workers prior to work and just after work in the field.Child agricultural workers suffered from pain especially in the low back (98%), knees (88%), hands (82%), shoulder (77%) and neck (68%). Among the agricultural activities in potato cultivation, the child potato workers, felt discomfort during spading (99%), sprinkling water (90%) and picking crops (87%). The post-activity heart rate of the child agricultural workers was 170.1 beats/min, whereas the systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 129.0 and 67.0 mm/Hg respectively.Most of the agricultural activities in potato cultivation were strenuous ones that affect the children, who suffered from acute pain and discomfort for a long period of time, which mainly hampers and restricts their education.
Seventy five rice cultivators and seventy five control subjects were selected randomly from the villages of West Bengal, India, to evaluate musculoskeletal disorder, thermal stress, physiological stress among the rice cultivators. Modified Nordic questionnaire studies and posture analysis were performed among them by Ovako Working Posture Analyzing System. Thermal and physiological stresses were also assessed by measuring WBGT index and heart rates respectively. All of the subjects suffered discomfort at different parts of the body especially at lower back (99%), knee (91%), ankle (83%), feet regions (68%).The lung function values FVC (3.24), FEV1 (2.56), FEV1/FVC ratio (79.57), PEFR (412.0) of the rice farmers were much lower than the control group due to inhalation of dust particles in the rice fields. They also suffered from thermal (36°C) and physiological stress due to hazardous working condition and increased heart rates (148 beats/min). Thus their health and overall work performance were affected.
In India, particularly in Sunderban of West Bengal, collection of prawn seeds is one of the major earning resources among prawn seed collectors. They are compelled to carry out a considerable amount of hard, manual, rigorous tasks in the river of the Sunderban area for collecting prawn seeds. They have to adopt some undesirable postures that may lead to the development of musculo skeletal disorder (MSD). The main aim of the present study is to investigate the prevalent postures adopted by the prawn seed collectors during individual prawn seed collection and to analyze the causation of discomfort feeling related with those postures. For this study, 21 male and 25 female prawn seed collectors were selected randomly and a detailed posture analysis was performed among them by means of OWAS method. It was observed that these workers worked continuously in awkward postures during certain prawn seed collection activity and consequently they suffered from discomfort feeling (pain) in different parts of the body.
The study deals with the assessment of musculoskeletal disorder among the potato farmers in ridging activity and to implement new ergonomic aid for the betterment of job procedure and improvement of productivity, health and safety of the workers.Two hundred sixty two potato farmers were randomly selected from the villages of West Bengal, India, to evaluate musculoskeletal disorder.Modified Nordic questionnaire studies and discomfort level scale along with hand grip strength were assessed among the potato farmers before and after using the ergonomic aid in ridging activity.After implementing the newly designed ergonomic aid, a maximum decrease in discomfort feeling, especially at the wrist, hand and shoulder and at the lower back region of the body, is observed.Thus the application of ergonomic aid in ridging activity in potato cultivation has significantly increased the productivity of the workers by decreasing the absenteeism from work among both the groups of workers.
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