Nomenclature
2.2 Contextual study
2.2.3 Investigating work-related health issues among artisans
This investigation covers work-related health issues in terms of pain relevance among Pottery artisans associated with clay moulding. Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) (Kuorinka, et al., 1987) was used to access the pain-related problems among the artisans in the last 12 months. Three hundred and sixty artisans were randomly selected from different parts of Assam, India, for this study. Only those artisans have participated in the study who volunteered to be part of this study. Socio-demographic and work-related details were also noted during the study.
2.2.3.1 Socio-demographic details
The socio-demographic and job details of Pottery artisans in Assam are presented in Table 2.2.
The mean age of the participants is 38.3 years for the male with a standard deviation of 11.4 years and 34.6 years for female artisans with a standard deviation of 10.2 years. This study depicts that the level of education among artisans is not impressive as 22.8% of male Pottery artisans and 51.1% of the female artisan are illiterate.
2.2.3.2 Work-related details
Pottery is a household cottage industry in Assam. Hence, it is practiced as livelihood opportunities from one generation to another generation. As the survey result depicts, the participants have been associated with pottery making activities for 1- 38 years. The average working experience of male artisans in pottery making is 12.2 Years (standard deviation- 10.13 Years), whereas for female, it is found to be 10.4 years (standard deviation – 9.4 years).
Children also participate in pottery activities to support their parents although this study considers only those artisans aged 18 to 60 years.
Interaction with artisans depicts that in addition to pottery activities, artisans are involved in other livelihood activities such as agriculture, daily wage labour, weaving etc. Artisans start their pottery works as early as 6 a.m. and continues up to late evening during peak seasons.
They take a break of 30-45 minutes in every 1.30 -2 hour of working for relaxation and perform other day-to-day activities. Women are mostly responsible for cooking, washing clothes, looking after children etc. Male artisans work an average of 11.0 hours (SD – 9.1 hours) per
Table 2.2
Socio-demographic and work-related details of pottery artisans (n=360)
Sl. No. Variables Male (n=180) Female (n=180)
1. Age (year), µ (SD) 38.3 (11.4)
Range: 18-60
34.6 (10.2) Range: 18-60
2. Material status n (%) Single 98 (54.4%) 79 (43.9%)
Married 82 (45.6%) 101(56.1%)
3. Education level, n (%) Illiterate 41 (22.8%) 91(51.1%)
Primary 86(47.8%) 42(23.3%)
Secondary 44 (24.4%) 46(25.6%)
Graduate 09 (05.0%) 0
4. Years worked as a Pottery artisan, µ (SD) 12.2 (10.1) Range: 01 -38
10.4 (9.4) Range: 01 -33
5. Daily working hours, µ (SD) 11.0 (9.1) 8.9 (7.9)
6. Income level, n (%) Low 82 (45.6%) 115 (63.9%)
Moderate 66 (36.7%) 45 (25%)
High 32 (17.8%) 20 (11.1%)
7. Job satisfaction Low 122 (67.8%) 96 (53.3%)
Moderate 47 (26.1%) 78 (43.3%)
High 11 (06.1%) 06 (03.3%)
8. Monthly work loss due to health issues, µ (SD) 6 days (1.9) 8 days (1.4) 9. Livelihood other than
Pottery
Agriculture 120 (66.7%) 115 (63.9%)
Daily wage labour 140 (77.8%) 54 (30.0%)
Weaving --- 117 5.0%)
day, and female artisans wok an average of 8.9 hours (SD- 7.9 hour) per day. Work loss per month [for male: 6 days (SD-1.9 days) and female eight days (1.4 days)] due to health-related issues are found to be one primary concern which needs intervention.
2.2.3.3 Characteristics of musculoskeletal outcomes
Figure 2.3 presents the characteristic of musculoskeletal symptoms among the pottery artisans.
As Fig. 2.3 depicts, all the artisans experienced musculoskeletal symptoms in at least one of their body regions at some time during the one year before this study. 100% of the male artisans reported being experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms in elbows and wrists/hands at some time during the last 12 months. More than 90% of male artisans reported musculoskeletal symptoms in wrists/hands, lower back, one or both hips/thighs/buttocks, one or both knees and
Fig. 2.3 Characteristics of musculoskeletal disorders among artisans in n different body regions one or both ankles/feet. On the other hand, 87.8% of male artisans and 72.8% of female artisans reported musculoskeletal symptoms in the upper back and neck in the last 12 months. For male, ratings of severity of musculoskeletal symptoms are found to be between moderate and severe (3-4 on the scale of 0-5) for most of the body regions. The shoulder is reported to have a severe musculoskeletal symptom (greater than 4). Imparting energy to the wheel regularly for continuous movement of the TPW is supposed to be the main reason behind such severe musculoskeletal symptoms in shoulders.
For female, 100% of the artisans reported musculoskeletal symptoms in one or both knees. As depicted in Fig. 2.3, more than 90% of female artisans reported musculoskeletal disorder in shoulders, wrists/hands and one or both knees. 81.67%, 86.1%, and 88.8% of female respondents reported musculoskeletal symptoms in elbows, upper back and lower back, respectively. Similarly, 77.2% of female respondents reported musculoskeletal symptoms in Neck. Among female artisans, a significantly lower percentage of respondents reported musculoskeletal symptoms in one or both ankles/feet at some time during the one year before this investigation. For female, moderate musculoskeletal symptoms (greater than three on the
72.8 100 100 98.9 87.8 90 92.2 95 93.3 77.2
95 81.67 95.6
86.1 88.9 95 100
0.03
0 40 80 120 160 200
Percentage of cases
Body region
Female Male
scale of 3-5) for most of the body region is reported (shown in Table 2.3). Knees are said to have the highest severity (rating 3.9 on the level of 3-5) among all the body regions.
One of the primary reasons for health issues such as musculoskeletal pain and back pain among the pottery artisans is supposed to be because of wrong working postures viz., bent neck and back, and folded knees etc. (Chung et al., 2003; Chung et al., 2005; Jung and Jung, 2008).
During the interactions with the artisans, most of the artisans revealed that they are regularly using painkiller and other medicine to get rid of the pain. Thus this investigation depicts a high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among the artisans. To minimize these health- drudgery ergonomic intervention is imperative to improve their working conditions and reduce exposure to musculoskeletal risks. Keeping in mind the needs for technological intervention to tackle problems associated with the sector, an attempt has been made here for the design and development of Improvised Pedal-operated Chaak (IPC).
Table 2.3
Characteristics of musculoskeletal symptoms among pottery artisans; n= 360; n (male)=180, n (female)=180) Body regions Prevalence of MSS Severity of MSS (Scale 0-5)
Male Female Male Female
n (%) n (%) Mean (SD) Mean (SD)
Neck 131 (72.8) 139 (77.2) 2.9 (0.9) 3.1 (1.0)
Shoulders 180 (100) 171 (95) 4.1 (0.7) 2.8 (1.1)
Elbows 180 (100) 168 (81.7) 3.9 (0.8) 2.7 (0.9)
Hands/wrists 178 (98.9) 172 (95.6) 3.6 (0.8) 3.1 (1.0)
Upper back 158 (87.8) 155 (86.1) 3.1 (0.9) 2.9 (0.8)
Lower back 162 (90) 160 (88.9) 3.1 (0.9) 3.0 (1.1)
Hips/thighs/buttocks 166 (92.2) 171 (95.0) 3.3 (0.9) 2.9 (0.9)
Knees 171(95) 180 (100.0) 3.4 (0.8) 3.9 (0.8)
Ankle/feet 168 (93.3) 06 (0.03) 3.5 (1.1) 0.01 (0.1)