Exposure, Environment, and Well Being. A Cross-Sectional Study of the Health Hazards, the Working Environment and the Quality of Life Among Cashew Workers in South Kerala, India

Cashew processing is a labor-intensive work, which requires physical demand exposing workers to various occupational health problems. This study aims to identify the occupational health issues faced by cashew workers, evaluate their working environment and assess their quality of life. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 cashew factory workers in South Kerala. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire which includes sociodemographic characteristics, working environment, and system related health issues. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to assess Quality of life among workers. The collected data was entered and coded into Microsoft Excel (Version 2016) and analyzed via SPSS Version16.0. Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain (96.8%) was high, followed by central nervous system-related symptoms (68.2%) and dermatological issues (58.5%).Of the ten factories surveyed, one-third (33.3%) did not have a proper system for fumes and dust extraction, provision of personal protective equipment, appointment of welfare officers and accessible washing facilities. Participants above 45 yrs of age were found to have 1.7 times higher odds of experiencing occupational health issues compared to those aged less than 45 years, as per multivariate analysis(p < 0.05). With respect to Quality of life, workers had higher social health mean score of 65.11 ± 15.02 and lower psychological health mean score of 46.93 ± 10.61. Musculoskeletal pain was the most prevalent health issue among cashew workers. The working environment among cashew workers is generally poor, which, along with occupational hazards, contributes to compromised quality of life in multiple domains.