Occupational hazards and risks among the women in fisher communities in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram, Bangladesh.

Autor: Halder CE; Public Health and Research Division, Bright Bangladesh Forum, Chattogram, Bangladesh., Das PP; Department of Public Health, State University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh., Rahman SMT; Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh., Bhoumick LC; Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh., Tassdik H; Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh., Hasan MA; Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.; UFR Sciences du Vivant, Universite Paris Cite, Paris, France., Mithun SN; Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Jul 19; Vol. 19 (7), pp. e0297400. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 19 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297400
Abstrakt: Background: Women in the fisher communities in coastal regions of Bangladesh are engaged in a wide range of fishery activities. However, there is limited evidence available on the occupational hazards and risks experienced by them.
Method: The study was conducted among fishing colonies in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram districts in Bangladesh. This was a cross-sectional study blending qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative component comprised five focus group discussions to understand the occupational context, hazards, and risks faced by the fisherwomen, informing the questionnaire design for the subsequent survey. The quantitative survey involved a sample of 207 women from fisher communities, gathering socio-demographic information, occupational hazards, risks, and health and safety practices.
Findings: The study found a high occurrence of occupational hazards, health risks and limited availability of preventive measures among the women in fisher communities. Occupational hazards include physical safety hazards such as slippery surfaces and fish cutting instruments, and physical hazards like prolonged sun exposure and noise. Chemical hazards like pesticides and saltwater, ergonomic hazards such as prolonged uncomfortable posture and heavy lifting, and biological hazards including inadequate sanitation facilities were prevalent. The study also identified the potential occupational risks, and the outcomes resulting from the hazards, including injuries (87.44%), musculoskeletal conditions (69.08%), skin diseases/conditions (56.52%), eye complaints (33.82%), severe respiratory distress (24.15%) and high incidence of self-reported communicable diseases. Most women (78.26%) did not use personal protective equipment, and the majority (93.72%) lacked a workplace first aid kit.
Conclusion: The study revealed a high prevalence of occupational hazards and health risks, including injuries and diseases, among Bangladeshi women in fisher communities with insufficient safety measures. Collaboration among government, NGOs, development partners, fisheries stakeholders, and the community is imperative for targeted training, innovative procedures, ergonomic solutions, provision of protective equipment, and advocacy to enhance the well-being of these women.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Halder et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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