Gender differences in prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and physiological stress among the brick field workers of West Bengal,India

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The manual brick field industry is one of the most important and oldest industries in India, where millions of male and female workers make their livelihood.

OBJECTIVE:

To estimate the different ergonomic risk factors associated with brick making, identify potential gender differences and the prevalence of Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), physiological and psychological stress among the brickfield workers.

METHODS:

Brickfield workers - 152 male and 148 female were randomly selected from the 12 brickfields. The Modified Nordic Questionnaire was applied to assess the discomfort reported among both groups of brickfield workers. Objective measurement of physiological parameters and lung function values were also recorded.

RESULTS:

From this study, it was revealed that there is significantly higher discomfort reported in hands, lower back and knees among female brick molders than male brick molders. The physiological parameters did not show any significant change between male brickfield workers and female brickfield workers. The mean values of FVC, FEV1 and PEFR for females were lower than those for male brickfield workers.

CONCLUSION:

This study concludes that female brickfield workers reported more discomfort than male brickfield workers; perhaps in part due to their additional domestic work responsibilities.