Roy Aparna, De Angshuman, Aftabuddin Md, Bera Asit K, Bayen Supriti, Ghosh Abhishek, Das Basanta K
Extension and Training Cell, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Laboratory Director, Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Quality Assurance Professional, Apollo Clinic Bansdroni, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Indian J Community Med. 2024 Mar-Apr;49(2):360-366. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_906_22. Epub 2024 Mar 7.
Small-scale fishers of Indian Sundarbans depend on open-water fisheries for their livelihoods. They often face health, occupational, and safety issues in their profession due to environmental, socio-economic, and policy changes. The morbidity pattern and related risk factors are important indicators of well-being for any community, hence applicable to small-scale fishers of Sundarbans. The present study was designed to assess patterns of morbidities, associated risk factors including occupational health hazards, and treatment-seeking behavior of small-scale fishers in the Indian Sundarbans.
Household surveys, focused group discussions, and personal interviews were conducted through a predesigned pretested structured questionnaire. Associated risk factors and the nature of seeking treatment were considered during the data collection covering 650 individuals from 132 fishers' families.
Morbidities were more frequent in males (39.33%) than in females (28.5%). The fever (31%) was the most dominant reason for morbidities followed by ocular ailments (23%), musculoskeletal disorder (20%), dermatological ailments (17%), and respiratory illness (9%). The highest morbidities (25%) were recorded in the age group of 21-30 years in males while that was 20% in the 11-20 years age group in the case of the females. Physical labor for fishing activities predisposes to health ailments of the studied population.
The prevalence of morbidity among the fishermen community was found to be 28.5%. The understanding of the morbidity profile of a population in general and specific age groups of both sexes in specific sheds light on the vulnerability of working groups that will help for effective healthcare planning and resource allocation.
印度孙德尔本斯地区的小规模渔民依靠开放水域渔业为生。由于环境、社会经济和政策变化，他们在职业中经常面临健康、职业和安全问题。发病模式及相关风险因素是任何社区福祉的重要指标，因此适用于孙德尔本斯的小规模渔民。本研究旨在评估印度孙德尔本斯地区小规模渔民的发病模式、包括职业健康危害在内的相关风险因素以及就医行为。
通过预先设计并经过预测试的结构化问卷进行家庭调查、焦点小组讨论和个人访谈。在数据收集过程中考虑了相关风险因素和寻求治疗的性质，涵盖了来自132个渔民家庭的650个人。
男性的发病率（39.33%）高于女性（28.5%）。发热（31%）是发病的最主要原因，其次是眼部疾病（23%）、肌肉骨骼疾病（20%）、皮肤病（17%）和呼吸道疾病（9%）。男性中发病率最高（25%）的年龄组为21 - 30岁，而女性中发病率最高（20%）的年龄组为11 - 20岁。捕鱼活动中的体力劳动使研究人群易患健康疾病。
发现渔民群体中的发病率为28.5%。了解总体人群以及特定性别和特定年龄组的发病情况，有助于了解劳动群体的脆弱性，这将有助于进行有效的医疗规划和资源分配。
