University of Ghana School of Public Health, GH.
RWTH Aachen Technical University, DE.
Ann Glob Health. 2020 Mar 18;86(1):31. doi: 10.5334/aogh.2630.
A walk through the Agbogbloshie e-waste recycling site shows a marked heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of the different e-waste processing activities, which are likely to drive clustering of health conditions associated with the different activity type in each space.
To conduct a spatial assessment and analysis of health conditions associated with different e-waste activities at different activity spaces at Agbogbloshie.
A choropleth showing the various activity spaces at the Agbogbloshie e-waste site was produced by mapping boundaries of these spaces using Etrex GPS device and individuals working in each activity spaces were recruited and studied. Upon obtaining consent and agreeing to participate in the study, each subject was physically examined and assessed various health outcomes of interest via direct physical examination while characterizing and enumerating the scars, lacerations, abrasions, skin condition and cuts after which both systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were recorded alongside the administration of open and close ended questionnaires. All individuals working within each activity space and consented to participate were recruited; giving a total of one hundred and twelve (112) subjects in all.
A study of the choropleth showed that health conditions associated e-waste processing activities were clustered in a fashion similar to the corresponding distribution of each activity. While a total of 96.2% of all the study subjects had cuts, the dismantlers had higher mix of scars, lacerations and abrasions. Abrasions were observed in 16.3% of the dismantlers. Scars were the most common skin condition and were observed on the skins of 93.6% of the subjects. Prevalence of burns among the study subjects was 23.1%. Developing hypertension was not associated with activity type and while a total of 90.2% of subjects had normal blood pressure and 9.8% of them were hypertensives. Finally, 98.2% of respondents felt the need to have a first aid clinic at the site with 96.4% and 97.3% willing to visit the clinic and pay for services respectively.
We conclude that while the observed injuries were random and were due purely to accidents without any role of spatial determinants such as the configuration, slope, topography and other subterranean features of the activity spaces, a strong association between the injuries and activity type was observed.
在阿格博格布洛西电子垃圾回收场走一走，就会发现不同电子垃圾处理活动的空间分布存在明显的异质性，这很可能导致与每个空间中不同活动类型相关的健康状况聚类。
对阿格博格布洛西电子垃圾场不同活动空间中与不同电子垃圾活动相关的健康状况进行空间评估和分析。
使用 Etrex GPS 设备绘制这些空间的边界，生成了显示阿格博格布洛西电子垃圾场各个活动空间的专题地图，并招募了在各个活动空间工作的个人进行研究。在获得同意并同意参与研究后，对每个参与者进行身体检查，并通过直接身体检查评估各种感兴趣的健康结果，同时对疤痕、撕裂伤、擦伤、皮肤状况和割伤进行特征描述和计数，然后记录收缩压和舒张压值，并进行开放和封闭式问卷调查。招募了每个活动空间内同意参与的所有人员，总共招募了 112 人。
对专题地图的研究表明，与电子垃圾处理活动相关的健康状况呈聚类分布，类似于每种活动的相应分布。虽然所有研究对象中有 96.2%的人有割伤，但拆解者的疤痕、撕裂伤和擦伤比例更高。拆解者中有 16.3%的人有擦伤。擦伤是最常见的皮肤状况，在 93.6%的研究对象的皮肤上都能观察到。研究对象中烧伤的患病率为 23.1%。高血压的发病与活动类型无关，而所有研究对象中有 90.2%的人血压正常，9.8%的人患有高血压。最后，98.2%的受访者认为有必要在现场设立急救诊所，其中 96.4%和 97.3%的人愿意去诊所就诊并付费。
我们得出结论，虽然观察到的伤害是随机的，纯粹是由于事故造成的，与活动空间的配置、坡度、地形和其他地下特征等空间决定因素无关，但观察到伤害与活动类型之间存在很强的关联。
