Occupational Health in Small Scale and Household Industries in Nepal : A Situation Analysis

• Introduction: Making working conditions safe and healthy is the interest of workers, employers and the Government.Although it seems simple and obvious, this idea has not yet gained meaningful recognition in Nepal.Materials and methods: The study was conducted in ten small scale industries of Kathmandu valley. Altogether 545questionnaires on socioeconomic and occupational history were fi lled up. Similarly, Workplace Occupational HealthAssessment was done in all ten industries. A thorough medical examination of 135 child workers was done using astructured questionnaire to fi nd out the health effects due to occupational hazards.Results: Out of the total 545 workers present in the industries under study, 135 (24.8%) were child workers. Higherproportion of child workers (97%) was illiterate compared to 3% of children with primary level education. Among thechild workers, 23 (17%) were girls. The majority of the child labourers were suffering from conditions like otitis externa,otitis media, scabies, anaemia, upper respiratory diseases, nasal problems, abdominal pain etc.Conclusion: The occupational health and safety practices in small scale industries in Kathmandu have been found to beunsatisfactory. Child labour is a serious problem. Out of ten industries, six have employed child workers and the workingconditions range from bad to terrible. Health and welfare of the child workers was also not satisfactory.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Arbetsmedicin och miljömedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Occupational Health and Environmental Health (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Situation Analysis

Occupational Hazards

Occupational Health and Safety

Small Scale and Household Industries

Child Labour

Kathmandu

Nepal

Biomedicinsk vetenskap

Biomedical Sciences

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