Morbidity pattern and health-care seeking among women domestic workers: Perspective from an Indian metropolis

Background: Domestic work being unrecognized as a formal form of occupation in India, workers are often deprived of basic social security, including access to proper health care. Self-negligence coupled with societal neglect makes them vulnerable to injury and a variety of illnesses. Objectives: We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Indian journal of public health 2023-04, Vol.67 (2), p.215-220
Main Authors: Gupta, Shibaji, Das, Debasis, De, Abhishek, Bhattacharya, Salil
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anemia
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dental Caries
domestic helper
Domestic service
Female
Health care
Health care facilities
Health facilities
Health risks
Humans
india
India - epidemiology
Morbidity
morbidity profile
Negligence
Occupational health
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Social security
Working women
Workplace accidents
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Summary:Background: Domestic work being unrecognized as a formal form of occupation in India, workers are often deprived of basic social security, including access to proper health care. Self-negligence coupled with societal neglect makes them vulnerable to injury and a variety of illnesses. Objectives: We aimed to study the morbidity pattern of women domestic workers residing in a slum area of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out by interviewing and clinically examining 106 randomly selected women domestic workers. Results: The majority (82.08%) had health complaints: heart burn being most common (40.57%). Musculoskeletal and dermatological issues were common. Anemia (31.25%) was a common prediagnosed morbidity. Pallor (33.96%) and dental caries (31.13%) were common; 50.94% reported workplace injury. Of those having complaints, 77.36% sought health care, 59.43% of whom relied on health facilities. Lack of time (54.05%), felt need (35.14%) and money (21.62%) affected adequate care seeking. Participants with cardiorespiratory complaints tended to visit health facilities significantly more (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Health vulnerabilities and neglectful behavior among domestic workers are evident, making the need to sensitize them about their health risks and ways to overcome such issues very vital. Awareness should also be generated about government health schemes to encourage timely health checkup and necessary intervention.
ISSN:0019-557X
2229-7693
DOI:10.4103/ijph.ijph_1657_22