Citation

Gangopadhyay S, Ghosh T, Das T, Ghoshal G, Das B. Int. J. Inj. Control Safe. Promot. 2007; 14(2): 85-92.

Affiliation

Ergonomics Laboratory, Department of Physiology, University College of Science and Technology, University of Calcutta. India.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17457300701376689

PMID

17510844

Abstract

The manufacture of surgical instruments is one of the leading small-scale industrial sectors in West Bengal, India. The present study was undertaken to assess the rate, type and cause of injury incidents among surgical blacksmiths and whether these incidents affected the work performance of the blacksmiths. A cluster of 216 skilled and 225 unskilled blacksmiths (male), engaged in the manufacture of surgical instruments, was selected from Baruipur subdivision as study subjects. The study included: 1) completion of a questionnaire; 2) measurement of physical parameters; 3) incident records; 4) statistical analysis of the data. The present study revealed that the blacksmiths suffered very frequently from work-related injuries. The number of injuries that occurred during 2004 - 2005 for skilled and unskilled blacksmiths was 1413 and 1610 respectively. Unskilled blacksmiths were disproportionately affected. These injuries resulted in a high rate of lost workdays, i.e. 517 and 742 workdays for skilled and unskilled workers respectively. The study thus indicated that surgical blacksmiths are highly prone to injuries in their occupation, mostly affecting the fingers (23% and 23%) and back region (21.7% and 22%) in both groups, which consequently affected their health, productivity and work performance.

Language: en