| dc.description.abstract | Abstract Introduction The coir industry processes fibres from coconuts. This industry plays an important role in sustaining the livelihood of a large number of people in Sri Lanka. Coir-related exports account for 6% of agricultural exports, 1% of total exports, and 0.35 percent of GDP in Sri Lanka. Even though this industry employs many people, we know relatively little about the potential health risks of these workers. Very few studies have been done in this industry showing the actual working conditions and possible injuries affecting the workers' health. More knowledge from the industry could be useful in plans for prevention of occupational injuries in the coir industry. Therefore, this project will study occupational injuries among coir workers and the risk factors associated with them, to be able to suggest preventive issues at these workplaces, if needed. Objectives The objective of this study is to obtain information about work, risk factors, and occupational injuries among coir workers. The study describes risk factors associated with injuries and the incidence of workplace injuries among workers of both genders in the coir industry. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 128 coir workers in six medium-scaled coir industries, conducted in North-Western and Western provinces of Sri Lanka. An observational checklist was developed for collecting data of risk factors for injuries outdoors and indoors in the coir industries, registering uneven or slippery flat surfaces, moving transports and machines, parts of machines, lighting, and noise. The project group also designed an interview guide for managers, which included relevant questions for the coir industry visited; starting year of the factory, the number of workers, injury statistics, and the type of machines used in those coir industries. Also, an interview guide was used for obtaining information from the workers, collecting data on background of the worker (sex, age, education, years at work, and type of work), any experienced injury in the past three months. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests were used to compare differences in injuries last three months among the two genders, and independent T-tests were used to compare the age, work year, years of school, years of work in the coir industry, and hours of working per day in the two groups. The annual incidence rate of injuries per 1000 workers was calculated. Results In this study, the annual incidence rate of injuries was calculated to 1063 injuries per 1000 workers per year. The female workers had a higher incidence rate (1556) than the male workers (638). Operating machines was significantly more common among the female workers, and this work was associated with workplace injuries. Slipped, tripped, and fall (64%) were the most common events of injury seen among all the injured workers. Also, cuts and bruises were common types of injuries. Fractures (12.5%) were also described in the study. Several risk factors were identified in the workplace environment, such as uneven floors, dusty floors, high noise levels, unmarked transport routes, not using of PPE and handling of dangerous machines in both indoors and outdoors. Discussion /conclusion The annual incidence rate of injuries in the coir industry was higher than reported from many other types of industries, and highest among the female coir workers. Workers in the present study were exposed to a variety of injury risks. Specifically, many of the female workers used machinery with potentially hazardous moving parts while wearing no personal protective equipment (PPE), and this might be the reason for their high incidence injury rate. This raises concerns and highlights the need for preventative measures in this industry to minimize the injury risks and hazards. Further study is required to learn more about the occupational injuries in this industry. | |
