Ngajilo Dorothy, Adams Shahieda, Baatjies Roslynn, Jeebhay Mohamed F
Occupational Medicine Division and Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research, School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa.
J Agromedicine. 2025 Apr;30(2):237-249. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2407986. Epub 2024 Oct 14.
Work in seafood harvesting and processing has been associated with a range of occupational hazards and associated health problems. However, limited information exists regarding the occupational health risks among workers engaged in seaweed handling.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to map seaweed co-operatives ( = 45), assess working practices, and identify common work-related symptoms, occupational hazards, and interventions in seaweed farming sites ( = 24), across three regions of Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Seaweed farming in Zanzibar primarily involves the cultivation of Eucheuma Spinosum, with the majority of workers being women. Common work-related symptoms identified include musculoskeletal symptoms, mainly affecting the wrist (87%), back (84%) and lower limbs (73%). Furthermore, a significant proportion of workers were reported to have skin problems (80%) as well as heat and asthma-related symptoms (51%). Walk-through hazard evaluations of work sites identified a range of occupational hazards, with ergonomic (58-68%), biological (50-63%) and chemical (55-65%) hazards obtaining higher scores across the three regions. Geospatial analysis revealed regional variations in occupational hazards and work-related symptom prevalence, with Unguja South having a statistically significant ( < .05) higher mean prevalence of skin symptoms (95%) and Mjini Magharibi region reporting a higher prevalence of lower limb pain (100%), back pain (100%), and heat-related symptoms (90%). Despite the high hazard scores, interventions were generally lacking across all regions.
Occupational health hazards and adverse health outcomes vary across seaweed farming and processing regions. Tailored interventions will be key to improving workplace health and safety of workers engaged in this sector.
海产品捕捞和加工工作与一系列职业危害及相关健康问题有关。然而，关于从事海藻处理工作的工人的职业健康风险的信息有限。
在坦桑尼亚桑给巴尔的三个地区开展了一项横断面研究，以绘制海藻合作社地图（n = 45），评估工作实践，并识别海藻养殖场（n = 24）中常见的与工作相关的症状、职业危害及干预措施。
桑给巴尔的海藻养殖主要涉及刺麒麟菜的种植，大多数工人为女性。识别出的常见与工作相关的症状包括肌肉骨骼症状，主要影响手腕（87%）、背部（84%）和下肢（73%）。此外，据报告相当一部分工人有皮肤问题（80%）以及与热和哮喘相关的症状（51%）。对工作场所的实地危害评估识别出一系列职业危害，其中人体工程学危害（58 - 68%）、生物危害（50 - 63%）和化学危害（55 - 65%）在三个地区得分较高。地理空间分析揭示了职业危害和与工作相关症状患病率的区域差异，南温古贾岛皮肤症状的平均患病率在统计学上显著更高（P < 0.05）（95%），而米吉尼·马加里比地区下肢疼痛（100%）、背痛（100%）和与热相关症状（90%）的患病率更高。尽管危害得分较高，但所有地区普遍缺乏干预措施。
海藻养殖和加工地区的职业健康危害及不良健康结果各不相同。量身定制的干预措施将是改善该行业工人工作场所健康与安全的关键。
