Prevalence of work-related occupational injuries and its risk factors among brickfield workers in West Bengal, India

Abstract

The manual brick making process is a physically demanding job with a high risk of work-related injuries. Prevalence of work-related injuries (17.55%) occurs frequently in manual brick making activities due to inherently hazardous nature. This study analyzes 451 recordable incidents that occurred over a period of 7 years (2011–2017) among 220 male and 180 female workers in a different brickfield of West Bengal, India. The leading cause of brickfield injury was fall from heights, struck by objects, overexertion, lack of awareness, slippage of spade while mud collection etc. Carrying bricks and spading are two activities, in which the injuries occurred most among female and male brickfield workers respectively. Risk factors like MMH, prolonged working time, repetitiveness, awkward posture, lack of rotational task, overcrowded work, Lack of personal protective device, and lastly sleep disturbance and poor income are the key factor for work-related injuries. Sprain and strain, cut or laceration, abrasion, avulsion, and snake or insect bite are the main injuries among both groups of brickfield workers. Lower back and toes are the most affected parts of the body followed by ankle, feet, and hand. From this study, it was also observed that female brickfield workers are much more affected than male agricultural workers. The incident rate among male and female brickfield workers was 18.7 per 1000 workers per year and 21.2 per 1000 workers per year, respectively. So due to injuries in both groups of brickfield workers, their health, productivity and work performance were consequently affected.