Prevalence of Occupational Injuries in selected Coir Industries in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v13i2.48717

Keywords:

Coir industry, Occupational injuries, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Introduction: The coir industry processes fibers from coconuts and is important for a high number of people in Sri Lanka. Coir workers handle several dangerous machines. This project has studied occupational injuries among coir workers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in six medium-sized coir industries in Sri Lanka, each with 15-100 employees. The workers who were present at work on the two days the researchers visited the respective industries (128 of total 214 workers) were interviewed on socio-demographics, work tasks they normally perform and occupational injuries they had experienced in the last three months. Independent T-tests and Chi-square tests were used to analyze for differences between groups.

Results: The mean age of the 128 interviewed workers was 45 years and 53.9% were male. Totally 34 (26.6%) of the workers had experienced at least one injury each during the past three months. Women reported significantly more injuries than men (38.9% vs 15.9%). The workers operating machines reported significantly more injuries than workers who performed other types of work (42.3% vs 22.0%). Slipped, tripped, and fall (64%) were the most common events of injury seen among the injured workers followed by cuts by sharp objects or machines (20%). The most common type of injury among the workers reporting injuries were cuts and bruises (50%).

Conclusion: More than one-fourth of the workers reported to have been injured in the last three months, indicating a high injury risk. This raises concerns and highlights the need for preventative measures to minimize risks.

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Author Biographies

Anindita Tasnim Onni, Department of global public health and primary care, University of Bergen, Norway

MBBS (DU), M.Phil of Global Health, Department of global public health and primary care, University of Bergen, Norway

E-mail: aninditaonni89@gmail.com

Asela Kumar Perera Dodanwalage , Ministry of Health, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

MBBS, MSc, MD (Medical Administration), Ministry of Health, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

E-mail: sjwprr@yahoo.com

Magne Bråtveit, Department of global public health and primary care, University of Bergen, Norway

Professor, Department of global public health and primary care, University of Bergen, Norway

E-mail: Magne.Bratveit@uib.no

Bente Elisabeth Moen, Department of global public health and primary care, University of Bergen, Norway

Professor, Centre for International Health, Department of global public health and primary care, University of Bergen, Norway

E-mail: Bente.Moen@uib.no

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Published

2023-03-15

How to Cite

Onni, A. T., Dodanwalage , A. K. P., Bråtveit, M., & Moen, B. E. (2023). Prevalence of Occupational Injuries in selected Coir Industries in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 13(2), 206–213. https://doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v13i2.48717

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Original Articles

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