Abstract

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous sections in both the developing and industrialized countries. Injuries are becoming major public health problem among agriculture workers in worldwide. Since India is an agriculture dependent country and also passing through a major socio-demographic and technological transition, injuries are becoming a major health problem for workers working in this sector. Objectives: To find out the prevalence, pattern and predictors of “Injuries” suffered by agricultural workers in context to their occupation. Material and Methods: A cross sectional study conducted in a rural area of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The study area was selected by multistage simple random sampling technique. A recall period of two months for minor injuries and one year for major injuries was used. A total of 4 villages covering 1510 both male and female agriculture workers and among them 302 workers was selected for the study purpose. Results: Total number of farmers who had suffered from any kind of injury was 174(57.5%) out of whom 134(77%) were mild, 32(18.4) were moderate and 8(2.6%) suffered from severe injuries. These injuries were significantly associated with their age OR(CI) [5.67(2.64-12.16)], caste OR(CI) [2.71(1.47-5.00)], education OR(CI) [3.64(1.70-7.78)].Type of work OR(CI) severity OR(CI) [2.32(1.27-4.35)] and duration OR(CI) [2.67(1.50-4.76)] of work proved to be significant correlates of Injury. Conclusions: Considering the high morbidities due to injuries focusing on health education, personal protective equipment efforts based on local behavioral practices is needed

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