Health Profile of Construction Workers in Hong Kong

Abstract

Construction is a manual, heavy, and complex sector concerning the most fatal accidents and high incidence of occupational illnesses and injuries resulting in days away from work. In Hong Kong, “Pilot Medical Examination Scheme for Construction Workers” was launched in 2014 to detect the health problems of their construction workforce. All registered workers under the Construction Workers Registration Board are eligible to join the scheme. The purpose of this paper is to assess the physical condition, physiological status, and musculoskeletal disorders of 942 construction workers in Hong Kong. This study adopted a two-phase design, which includes a basic medical examination to measure the workers’ physiological parameters, such as blood pressure, resting heart rate, glucose, cholesterol, uric acid, liver function test, and renal function test; as well as a face-to-face interview following the medical examination to collect their demographic information and pain experience. Individual characteristics, including gender, age, obesity, alcohol drinking habit, and sleeping habit influenced the health condition of construction workers. Among the participants, 36.1% and 6.5% of them were overweight and obese, respectively. In addition, 43.0%, 38.4%, 16.2%, and 13.9% of the participants exceeded the thresholds of cholesterol, blood pressure, urea nitrogen, and uric urea, correspondingly. Moreover, 41.0% of the participants suffered musculoskeletal pain, where the most frequent painful parts occur in the lower back, shoulder, knees, leg, and neck. Through these findings, a series of important issues that need to be addressed is pointed out in terms of maintaining the physical well-being and reducing musculoskeletal disorders of construction workers. The finding may have implications for formulating proper intervention strategies for the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s construction industry.

Prevalence of high cardiovascular risk by economic sector

“…Hypertension was more prevalent in the construction sector than in males overall in this study despite a lower mean age of workers in construction than overall. High prevalence of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors was also observed in construction workers in Hong Kong (Yi and Chan 2016). One explanation may be that construction workers have a higher level of occupational physical activity compared to leisure time physical activity (Gram et al 2016).…”

<b>Risco relacionado ao consumo de tabaco e álcool em homens trabalhadores metalúrgicos/ Risk related to comsumption of tobacco and alcohol in men metalurgical workers<b>

“…A amostragem foi definida de maneira não probabilística, e os indivíduos foram selecionados por conveniência. O cálculo amostral levou em consideração o número total de trabalhadores, com erro amostral de 5% e nível de confiança de 95%, atribuindo o valor de 20% ao porcentual de abuso de drogas entre trabalhadores.Conforme verificado em outros trabalhos de referência (2,3) , definiu-se uma amostra de 189 pessoas como representativa deste universo de trabalhadores.…”

“…Estudos sobre a prevalência do uso de drogas por indivíduos de categorias profissionais são descritos na literatura (1) . Em estudo realizado em Hong Kong, com 942 trabalhadores da construção civil, constatou-se prevalência de consumo de tabaco de 49,2% e, para álcool, a prevalência foi de 59,5%, constatando-se que 6,8% apresentavam padrão de consumo problemático (2) . No Brasil, estudo com trabalhadores da construção civil constatou prevalência de consumo de tabaco de 38,2% e de álcool de 33,7% (3) .…”

Dealing with Ageing Workforce in the Hong Kong Construction Industry: an Initial Exploration

“…Some works and research studies conducted in the past several years in Hong Kong construction industry have led to the revelation of insights on the general workforce health, safety, and well-being although these studies were not solely targeted at older workers. Notable among these studies were the four waves of health promotion and medical examination exercises conducted during the years 2013 to 2018 by staff members of two local universities -Rowlinson et al [10], Tin et al [7], Yi and Chan [11], and the currently ongoing Chan's [12] construction workers' health profiling project. The results [except Chan [12] the results of which are pending] of these studies converge to indicate that the local workforce sustain poor health conditions.…”