Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in senior farmers: safety and health considerations

Predictors of Low Back Pain Risk among Rubber Harvesters

Low back pain (LBP) is a significant work-related musculoskeletal disorder among rubber farmers. This major occupational health problem was highly reported in the agricultural sector. While rubber farming is a profession with high risk of LBP, predictors for LBP remain unclear. This study was designed to investigate the risk predictors of LBP among rubber farmers during the harvesting process. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2021, in which an interviewer administered a pretested structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed. A total of 317 rubber farmers were recruited with a 100% response rate. The prevalence of LBP was 71.2% with 95% confidence interval (CI) of (0.716-1.900). Significant risk predictors were working experience (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.743, 95% CI (1.034-2.937)), agricultural registration (AOR: 2.022, 95% CI (1.078-3.792)), work without training (AOR: 2.037, 95% CI (1.083-3.832)), heavy workload (AOR: 2.120, 95% CI (1.242-3.621)), and prolonged standing (AOR: 2.944, 95% CI (1.586-5.465)). Intriguingly, those with sufficient income had a reduced risk of LBP than those with insufficient income. This study confirmed that LBP is a major work-related musculoskeletal disorder among rubber farmers. The result here suggests that the five predictors reported above should be prioritized for further disease prevention.

Older Female Farmers and Modeling of Occupational Hazards, Wellbeing, and Sleep-Related Problems on Musculoskeletal Pains

Musculoskeletal pains seem to be the most prevalent among occupational diseases in older female farmers. This study analyzes the relationships between exposure to ergonomic or environmental hazards, sleep-related problems, wellbeing, and musculoskeletal pains in older female farmers. In this study, older farmer means a farmer aged ≥60, and 2005 older female farmers were selected. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to investigate the relationships. In the results of SEM, musculoskeletal pains were more affected by the level of wellbeing (standardized path coefficient = −0.149) than the level of sleep-related problems (standardized path coefficient = 0.131) or the exposure level of ergonomic hazards (standardized path coefficient = 0.086). Among the ergonomic risk factors felt by elderly female farmers, the influence level of “awkward posture” (0.735), “repetitive motion” (0.718), or “standing posture” (0.693) was greater than that of “manual material handling” (0.661). “Vibration” (0.786) and “noise” (0.683) were influential variables of environmental hazards. In addition, “upper limb pain” (0.796) and “lower limb pain” (0.751) variables were more influential variables of musculoskeletal pains than the “backache” (0.472) variable. This study shows that strategies to improve wellbeing or sleep problems are important to alleviate or prevent musculoskeletal pains among older female farmers.

Aging at Work: A Review of Recent Trends and Future Directions

Demographic data suggest a rapid aging trend in the active workforce. The concept of aging at work comes from the urgent requirement to help the aging workforce of the contemporary industries to maintain productivity while achieving a work and private life balance. While there is plenty of research focusing on the aging population, current research activities on policies covering the concept of aging at work are limited and conceptually different. This paper aims to review publications on aging at work, which could lead to the creation of a framework that targets governmental decision-makers, the non-governmental sector, the private sector, and all of those who are responsible for the formulation of policies on aging at work. In August 2019 we searched for peer-reviewed articles in English that were indexed in PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and Springer and published between 2008 and 2019. The keywords included the following phrases: “successful aging at work”, “active aging at work”, “healthy aging at work”, “productive aging at work”, and “older adults at work”. A total of 47,330 publications were found through database searching, and 25,187 publications were screened. Afterwards, 7756 screened publications were excluded from the further analysis, and a total of 17,431 article abstracts were evaluated for inclusion. Finally, further qualitative analysis included 1375 articles, of which about 24 are discussed in this article. The most prominent works suggest policies that encourage life-long learning, and a workforce that comprises both younger and older workers, as well as gradual retirement.

Heat-Related Illness in Midwestern Hispanic Farmworkers: A Descriptive Analysis of Hydration Status and Reported Symptoms

Heat-related illness (HRI) is a largely undocumented phenomenon in Midwestern Hispanic migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States. Frequently, the physiological burden of crop production is overlooked while workers are in the fields. We completed a mixed-methods study using a cross-sectional survey among migrant and seasonal farmworkers about their experience with HRI symptoms ( N = 148) and conducted an intensive surveillance on a smaller group of workers ( N = 20) in field trials ( N = 57 trials) using a chest-strapped multi-parameter monitoring wearable sensor (MPMWS) that measured skin/body temperature, heart and breathing rate, kilocalories burned per hour, and provided a physiological intensity (PI) score. The field trials were conducted across three classes of climate conditions and three PI score categories. We found that those in the uncomfortable category (PI score > 4.0) had a statistically significant ( F ratio = 16.41, p < .001) higher body temperatures ( M = 100.05°F) than those with a mild PI (range = 0-5) score ⩽ 2.5 ( M = 99.56°F) or moderate PI score > 2.5-4 (99.84°F). We also found that those in the uncomfortable climate condition category had a higher mean heart rate and breathing rate than those working under mild and moderate field trials.