Ritu Gupta

Health and Socio-Psychological problems of special group families

The families with many variations, ranging from couples with or without children to single parent families and multigenerational families confront management problems of different nature. The single parent situation represents one of the most significant changes affecting the family system. The issue of the single parent family in the Indian context is complicated one, requiring investigation on various dimensions of the problems. So, the present study was undertaken to examine the problems faced by single parents (females) of Ludhiana and its effects on their behaviour. The study was conducted on purposively selected 120 females who were running their household alone themselves. Awell structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents for collecting data. The results of the study revealed that 28.4 per cent of the respondents had weak health status and majority of the respondents (88.4%) suffered from stress and strain. In case of 33.4 per cent of respondents, at the time of illness, care was taken by their sons. About 81.7 per cent of the respondents reported lack of interest in social activities and 96.7 per cent of the respondents suffered from loneliness.

Occupational health hazards of the female construction workers

Construction work involves several manual material handling tasks including both skilled and unskilled activities. Females are generally engaged in the unskilled works where as skilled works are completely done by male workers. Females are engaged in carrying different construction materials like brick, sand, cement and concrete. They use to carry all these materials on their head putting undue stress on their body. Present study was focused on studying the activities profile of women on construction site and assessing their health hazards and musculoskeletal problems. For the purpose of study, 10 female construction workers working within the campus of Punjab Agricultural University’s were selected. Their activity profile and health hazards were studied with the help of questionnaire whereas their musculoskeletal discomforts were studied with the help of REBA and the risk assessment scores for musculoskeletal discomfort in different body parts. Results revealed that the female workers work for an average of 9.2 hours per day with a continuous working hour of 4.1 hour. REBA analysis revealed that brick lifting was the most tedious activity as its activity score was 12 followed by brick landing (11) and brick carrying (9). Further the risk assessment scale depicted that pain was felt in the upper arms, neck, thighs, head, shoulders, wrists, low back, feet, lower arms, ankles, mid back, legs, upper back, fingers, buttock and palm. Numbness was felt in fingers and palms; Stiffness in neck and feet; tingling sensation in palms and weakness in upper arms, thighs, feet, legs, shoulder and upper back. Therefore, it can be concluded that female construction workers face high level of physical stress due to their occupation. They have to perform several hazardous activities among which brick carrying is the most frequent and most tedious task.

Postural discomforts faced by female employees in beauty parlours

Beauty parlour employees provide services to the public putting their own body at risk. They work in awkward posture and are also exposed to several chemicals. Due to improper posture and repetitive task, they may develop several musculoskeletal discomforts like Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs), Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), Repeated Motions Injury (RMI) and Occupational Overuse Disorders (OODs) (Fang et al., 2007). Their work demand prolonged standing posture which contributes to numerous health effects such as work-related musculoskeletal disorders, chronic venous insufficiency, preterm birth and spontaneous abortion, and carotid atherosclerosis. However, those injuries can be minimized through application of engineering and administrative controls (Halim and Omar, 2011). In the light of above, present study had been conducted to analyse the work pattern and identify most frequent activity performed by the beauty parlour employees and conduct postural analysis of the most frequent activity. For conducting the study, 10 beauty parlours were selected near the area of research in Ludhiana and one respondent was randomly selected from each parlour. Results revealed that the employees were working for an extended period of 51 working hours per week which is much more than the recommended value of 40 hours per week (ILO, 1962). Among the different services offered, the most frequent was threading of eyebrows and upper lips, followed by waxing, hair cutting, facial, face cleanup and hair spa. Threading being the most frequent activity was selected for further postural analysis with the help of REBA. Results of REBA analysis revealed that the activity was highly risky, investigation was needed and change should be implemented.

Awareness among Rural Girls for Role of Home Science Education in Economic Empowerment

Abstract Women in India remain a disadvantaged section of society even in the context of continual advancement taking place. Opportunities must be created specifically for the rural women by empowering them and enabling them to acquire the skills necessary for entering into various occupations. Present paper studies awareness of rural girls about Home Science education. An exhaustive list of income generating avenues (of Home Science education) was prepared and used as a tool to educate masses; and lectures were arranged. Results indicate that none of the target group had any knowledge of career options of home science education in industry, freelancing, self-help groups, profit generating networks and agencies like NGO’s and KVK’s. Few girls had knowledge of consultancy services, home based industry and self-employment. Most of the young rural girls wanted to learn trade to go and work abroad for economic gains. So there is urgent need to start such awareness campaigns at root level, especially at the entry level to higher education.