Child Work in Agriculture in West Bengal, India: Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Occupational Health Problems

Abstract

Child Work in Agriculture in West Bengal, India: Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Occupational Health Problems: Banibrata DAS, et al. Department of Physiology, South Calcutta Girls' College University of Calcutta, India— Objective 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. Methods 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. Results 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. Conclusions 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.

An Overview of REBA Method Applications in the World

“…They showed that one of the most affected body areas was the lumbar region. The same was stated by Das et al [49] who applied it in the same crop type, but in this case studying children. The method has also been used in the study of crops such as tomato [59,61], pepper [59], rice [58], oil palm [51] and apples [53], as well as in the collection of ornamental plants [45] and seeds [48].…”

Assessment of Postural Load during Melon Cultivation in Mediterranean Greenhouses

“…Abrahao et al used OWAS to study physical strain in organic horticulture workers [79], whereas Das et al used it to perform an ergonomic analysis in farm-working children [80].…”

Musculoskeletal disorders: OWAS review

“… 3.1.5.1 105 ) Japan 2012 Application of the OWAS in vineyard workers. 3.1.5.1 110 ) India 2013 Application of REBA, the OWAS, the standardized Nordic questionnaire, and measurement of other parameters of children doing farm work. 3.1.5.1 111 ) Austria 2014 Application of the OWAS, interview and measurement of parameters of workers picking apples.…”

“…Although it may appear surprising, not only has research been done on adult agricultural workers, both male and female, but also on children working in agriculture in India. Das et al 110 ) applied the OWAS, REBA 16 ) , and the standardized Nordic questionnaire 28 ) together with the measurement of heart rate and blood pressure. The results showed that the parts of the body most affected in children during farm labour were the lumbar area, the knees, hands, shoulders, and neck.…”