Citation Information :
Pandirajan S, Muthukumar T. A Cross-sectional Study to Estimate the Prevalence of Mechanical and Biological Hazards in Agricultural Workers of Kancheepuram District. 2023; 6 (1):3-8.
Introduction: The majority of the Indian population is dependent on the agricultural industry, whether directly or indirectly but only a little attention is paid to their health needs. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of mechanical and biological hazards among agricultural workers and to determine the factors associated with their work-related injuries in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, India.
Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was done in the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, India, over a period of 18 months. The villages under the Thiruporur block were selected by proportional systemic random sampling method. Assuming that 80% is the power of the study and a 95% confidence interval (CI), the minimum sample size required for the study was calculated to be 377. Statistical significance was taken as p < 0.05. The data were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS), version 16. Microsoft Excel 2010 was used to generate charts.
Results: All participants were full-time agricultural workers. About 37% have accidental injuries and among them 63% of injuries were minor and 37% were major injuries. When comes to animal bites, about 81% of the study participants had insect bites, about 30% had a bee sting and about 21% had snakebites. Among the risk factors, those individuals with age above 51 years, female gender, and socioeconomic class of more than 4, have a statistically significant association with the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Those individuals with age above 51 years, male gender, Hindu, with a habit of drinking alcohol, the habit of smoking, and socioeconomic class of 1 and 2, have a statistically significant association with the presence of hypertension.
Conclusion: More than three-fourths of agricultural workers have morbidity related to musculoskeletal injuries, electric hazards, injury due to sharp instruments, heat-related stress, and skin morbidities. Since agriculture plays a key role in the country's economy, the health of the agricultural workers should be sustained and it remains a key priority for the country.
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