Occupational Hazards and Health Status of Trash Picker Children in Faisalabad City, Punjab, Pakistan

Batool, Zahira; Akram, Madieha; Anjum, Faiza; Ibrahim, Muhammad Bello

doi:10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s2p590

Cited by 15 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Migrant undocumented workers may not feel welcome at health facilities [ 5 , 6 ]. Additionally, informal economy workers may have less access to occupational health education and services; resulting in less knowledge of hazards and their control, poor access to personal protective equipment, and low health services coverage [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Services Use and Health Outcomes among Informal Economy Workers Compared with Formal Economy Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Naicker

Pega

Rees

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Background: There are approximately two billion workers in the informal economy globally. Compared to workers in the formal economy, these workers are often marginalised with minimal or no benefits from occupational health and safety regulations, labour laws, social protection and/or health care. Thus, informal economy workers may have higher occupational health risks compared to their formal counterparts. Our objective was to systematically review and meta-analyse evidence on relative differences (or inequalities) in health services use and health outcomes among informal economy workers, compared with formal economy workers. Methods: We searched PubMed and EMBASE in March 2020 for studies published in 1999–2020. The eligible population was informal economy workers. The comparator was formal economy workers. The eligible outcomes were general and occupational health services use, fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries, HIV, tuberculosis, musculoskeletal disorders, depression, noise-induced hearing loss and respiratory infections. Two authors independently screened records, extracted data, assessed risk of bias with RoB-SPEO, and assessed quality of evidence with GRADE. Inverse variance meta-analyses were conducted with random effects. Results: Twelve studies with 1,637,297 participants from seven countries in four WHO regions (Africa, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific) were included. Compared with formal economy workers, informal economy workers were found to be less likely to use any health services (odds ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.85–0.94, four studies, 195,667 participants, I2 89%, low quality of evidence) and more likely to have depression (odds ratio 5.02, 95% confidence interval 2.72–9.27, three studies, 26,260 participants, I2 87%, low quality of evidence). We are very uncertain about the other outcomes (very-low quality of evidence). Conclusion: Informal economy workers may be less likely than formal economy workers to use any health services and more likely to have depression. The evidence is uncertain for relative differences in the other eligible outcomes. Further research is warranted to strengthen the current body of evidence and needed to improve population health and reduce health inequalities among workers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Services Use and Health Outcomes among Informal Economy Workers Compared with Formal Economy Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Naicker

Pega

Rees

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…The practice clearly shows the scavengers' lack of knowledge of the risk a dirty piece of cloth can pose to their wound. In addition, the absence of personal protective gear was largely noted among scavengers in Pakistan (Batool et al, 2015;Majeed et al, 2016). As part of the unhygienic practices, it was also observed that the sanitary condition of the participants' houses was poor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Status and Illness Experiences of Refugee Scavengers in Pakistan

2020

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Scavengers are continuously exposed to several health hazards which affect their quality of life. The phenomenon of scavenging in Pakistan is on the rise but literature on scavengers’ health and illness is limited. Hence, this study intends to add to the knowledge by exploring the health status and illness experiences of refugee scavengers using phenomenology approach. Thirty-one adult male Afghan refugee scavengers (with at least 5 years of work experience) were recruited in this qualitative study through purposive sampling. To collect the lived experiences, this study predominantly relied on open-ended, face-to-face, semistructured, and in-depth interviews by using an interview protocol. The qualitative data analyzed with Max van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological reflection revealed that all the scavengers were experiencing multiple health problems ranging from minor to chronic illnesses. These health issues were frequent in nature and had affected their overall life mostly daily activities, job, and earnings. The study concludes with the need to increase literacy among scavengers, raise their health awareness and usage of personal protective equipment at work.

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“…[ 4 ] A study by Batool et al . [ 15 ] in Pakistan showed that 79% of ragpickers faced hurdles of sharps and broken glasses during ragpicking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many waste pickers complain about flies and mosquitoes act as a nuisance while working. [ 15 ] More than half of study population (baseline) had awareness regarding vector-borne diseases arising from these waste. Solid waste is associated with several specific vector-borne diseases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of awareness package on occupational health hazards among ragpickers of New Delhi, India

Agarwalla

Pathak

Singh

et al. 2017

Indian J Occup Environ Med

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Background:Ragpickers are informal workers who collect recyclable materials to earn a small wage on daily basis. They work in vulnerable conditions and awareness regarding occupational and environmental hazard is essential for them.Objective:To study the effectiveness of awareness program on various occupational health hazards among the ragpickers.Materials and Methods:This interventional study was conducted from May through October 2016 among the ragpickers living near field practice area of Department of Community Medicine and those living in slum areas around HAHC Hospital, New Delhi, India. The awareness regarding occupational and environmental health hazards was assessed using a pretested and predesigned pro forma. Snowball sampling technique was used to select the ragpickers from the various areas. Health awareness and education package was designed for the ragpickers. The package was delivered by medical officers and health workers. A posttest assessment was done 2 weeks after the awareness activity.Result:Among 150 ragpickers, there was significant improvement in knowledge immediate post training on knowledge of occupational hazard and hygiene.Conclusion:Efforts should be put to develop training materials on occupation and environmental health and injury issue relating to waste management.

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Occupational Hazards and Health Status of Trash Picker Children in Faisalabad City, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract: Trash picking is an inferior, exploitative and inhumane economic activity; considered as the most vulnerable and neglected

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Health Services Use and Health Outcomes among Informal Economy Workers Compared with Formal Economy Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Health Services Use and Health Outcomes among Informal Economy Workers Compared with Formal Economy Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Health Status and Illness Experiences of Refugee Scavengers in Pakistan

Effectiveness of awareness package on occupational health hazards among ragpickers of New Delhi, India

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