Browsing by Subject "Occupational health"

Purpose: (1) To verify the accuracy and linearity of the ThermoScientific Radeye G Personal Rate Meter with respect to exposure rate across the full dynamic range of the instrument. (2) Use a combination of empirical data and Monte Carlo methods to estimate dose distribution in a GE Discovery 690 PET/CT scanner room and adjacent hallway. (3) Quantify components of occupational dose to PET technologists.

Materials & Methods: (Project 1) The Radeye unit and a calibrated ion chamber were placed in the beam of a Cesium 137 calibrator. They were exposed from 46 μR/hr to 1 R/hr with the pulse of each beam lasting for 90 seconds. The Radeye made 15 exposure rate measurements during each pulse. The ion chamber was read in the mid-point of each pulse's duration. (Project 2) Six Radeye units were placed at key points within the Discovery 690 scan room and two were placed in the adjacent hallway. 1600 exposure rate measurements were made over eleven hours during each day of operation. Data was collected for seven days. The total integrated data from the detectors inside the room was used to develop a Monte Carlo model of the room using FLUKA software. This model was then able to estimate the contribution from radiation escaping the scan room to the detectors in the hallway. (Project 3) Three PET technologists wore Radeye units while performing their daily tasks. The detectors recorded a mean exposure rate over each 25 second sampling period. The technologists were also asked to maintain a written log of all their interaction with radioactive material as well as their interactions with injected patients. Each day the Radeye unit produced a plot of radiation exposure with respect to time. Each interaction with radioactivity from the logs was highlighted on the plot and integrated to obtain the exposure received while performing that task.

Results: (Project 1) The Radeye deviated from the known value of exposure by up to 9.3% and deviated from the ion chamber measurement by up to 8.6% for exposure rates of 1 mR/hr and greater. The Radeye measured up to 29.6% higher than the known rate and up to 33.6% higher than the ion chamber measurement for exposure rates less than 1 mR/hr. The variance in the Radeye measurements decreased as exposure rate increased. The standard deviation of the Radeye measurements were less than 4% of their respective mean values for exposure rates less than 1 mR/hr. This value increased for lower exposure rates, up to 14% at 0.046 mR/hr. (Project 2) Mean daily exposures to five points in the PET/CT scan room were measured for CT and PET emissions separately. A Monte Carlo model of the scan room was created to model the distribution, including an initial approximation for the scanner gantry. The simulations showed that the virtual scanner should be thinner (i.e. less attenuating), especially for the 511KeV PET photons. (Project 3) The mean exposure received per dose draw and accompanying injection was 0.70±0.23mR for the 113 injections recorded over the course of the study. No correlation was observed between the dosage injected and the exposure received. The percent contributed to the total exposure by each category and participant was as follows. Technologist #1: 68% from Dose Draw, 6% from Patient Positioning, 4% from Patient Transport, 1% from General Patient Care, 21% from nonspecific sources. Technologist #2: 34%, 32%, 14%, 6%, and 14%. Technologist #3: 32%, 32%, 16%, <1%, and 20%. The dose draws and accompanying injections account for between one and two thirds of daily exposure. This indicates it is likely a 30% daily dose reduction could be achieved with use of automated injection equipment.

Over the past few decades, Sri Lanka has experienced a feminization of migrant labor whereby increasing numbers of women have gone abroad to seek employment as foreign domestic workers. Despite the dominance of this profession among the female migrant labor force, little is known about their occupational health and, thus, little care has been devoted to meeting the health needs of this population. This study aimed to contribute to the current gap in knowledge and bring greater attention to the issue primarily through qualitative inquiry. More specifically, the objectives pursued were to obtain information regarding the health problems that Sri Lankan female foreign domestic workers face, understand how foreign domestic work may have caused those problems, and identify what these women consider to be the more common and more concerning health problems and their causes.

Twenty-five Sri Lankan female foreign domestic workers from Galle District, who were formerly employed in the Middle East, participated in focus group discussions, comprised of six to seven women in each session. During each focus group discussion, the women also engaged in free listing and pile sorting tasks, so as to obtain quantifiable data regarding common and concerning health conditions among female foreign domestic workers. Subsequently, eight participants were invited for in-depth interviews, so as to gain more personal information regarding their individual health.

Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the study found that not all former female foreign domestic workers suffered from health problems. Of those that did, problems with their physical and mental health were most prevalent. While some experienced only a single concern, others had multiple issues. A number of health conditions perceived to be more common among foreign domestic workers were not thought to be of great concern and vice versa. Furthermore, in reporting what they perceived to be causes of their ill health, the women revealed certain health beliefs. In terms of overall employment, the majority of participants had negative experiences, suffering from overwork and poor treatment as employees. Not all women, however, had the same unpleasant experiences.

Taken together, these findings prompt the need for the Sri Lankan government and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment to do more in terms of prevention and improving the working conditions of Sri Lankan women working as foreign domestic workers. Moreover, the findings can inform the reformation of pre-departure training, legal frameworks, and post-migration assistance to meet the needs of foreign domestic workers, particularly in terms of protecting their rights and health. Future studies may be qualitative so as to further explore foreign domestic workers' health beliefs or cross-cultural and utilizing mixed-methods. Finally, the results of this study will be used to develop a health questionnaire to be administered to this population in a future quantitative study, so as to obtain more generalizeable data in regard to prevalence of certain health problems.

Little is known about the general health concerns of three-wheel drivers, who provide an important transport service through many South Asian nations, including Sri Lanka. In order to fill this gap in the literature, a two-stage qualitative study was employed to determine the types of health concerns that three-wheel drivers in Galle, Sri Lanka experience. The first stage employed one-on-one semi-structured interviews relating to personal health with 20 three-wheel drivers. The second stage consisted of two semi-structured focus groups, one with five participants and the other with eight. The most common health concern among three-wheel drivers at this site was musculoskeletal pain in the back, shoulders, and knees. The most common health risk factors were alcohol consumption, tobacco use, lack of physical activity, and poor utilization of routine examinations. An unexpected finding was the relative lack of road traffic accidents and injuries. Based on these findings, government or private health initiatives aimed at three-wheel drivers might seek to intervene on modifiable risk factors such as substance use and failure to seek well care. Health officials might also encourage three-wheel manufacturers to re-think their design to reduce musculoskeletal stress. The information collected was used to design a survey instrument, which will be used in future research to quantify three-wheel driver health concerns on a larger scale in Sri Lanka.

Background: Approximately 30% of Sri Lankans work in the agricultural industry, with the third largest agricultural product being rubber. Rubber tapping involves repetitive and high paced work, static muscle loading, non-neutral body postures, and forceful physical exertion, all potential risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on two plantations near Galle, Sri Lanka to study the risk factors of MSDs and injuries in rubber tappers. Questionnaires were administered to 300 rubber tappers, and an ergonomic analysis using Quick Exposure Check was performed on 90 tappers. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to determine risk factors for MSDs and injuries. Results: 66% of rubber tappers reported experiencing an MSD in the past 12 months. Multivariate analysis revealed that many demographic, work condition, personal and psychosocial factors were associated with MSDs. A total of 594 injuries were experienced in the last 12 months, resulting in tappers missing 1080 days of work. Factors associated with injuries were working an additional job and depression. Conclusions: MSDs and injuries are common among rubber tappers in Sri Lanka. Numerous factors contribute to the high prevalence. These results suggest a need for injury monitoring on plantations. Furthermore, work process modifications should be used to help reduce the number of MSDs and injuries.

As one of the first countries to experience rapid ageing in South Asia, Sri Lanka is put many efforts to understand and characterize the ageing population in order to better serve them and prepare for population ageing. This thesis studied further on Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) since they are one of the most vulnerable groups among the aged population in Sri Lanka. The aims of the study were to: (1) describe the characteristics of the returned FDWs; (2) associate work history and healthy older life by performing multivariable analysis; (3) describe the technology familiarity among the returned FDWs. 120 returned FDWs residing in Galle, Sri Lanka were surveyed using a questionnaire that was created for the purpose of the thesis. The population sample was women aged between 45 and 65 years old and worked as an FDW for at least 2 years in the past. Whether their older lives were healthy was measured using a binary well-being outcome variable. Overall, the study found that older FDWs were not living differently from that of the general elderly population in Sri Lanka. Many of the descriptive statistics results followed the literatures and other similar studies. When the subjects were satisfied with different aspects of health, they were also satisfied with their current overall well-being. In summary, the older life of the returned FDWs is accompanied by a continual period of good health and a sustained sense of well-being, their social engagement and productivity remain low.