Abstract:
Background: Urban solid waste management is considered as one of the most immediate and
serious environmental problems confronting municipal authorities in developing Asian
Countries. Today, scavenger still carries out the basic sanitary services in cities and towns of
Bangladesh. These scavengers live and work in unhygienic conditions and the nature of their
occupation exposes them to potentially pathogenic bio-aerosols that may lead to the spread of
various diseases. Objectives: To identify the occupational risks, the health problems and
treatment patterns as well as the socio-demographic status of scavengers. Methods and
materials: This was a survey based study. The paper is based on the information collected from
the field survey. Questionnaires, field Observation and interview with key informants were the
techniques used to obtain data and information. A total of 200 respondents were selected by
purposive sampling method as subject for the present study. Data was collected from scavengers
who are concentrated at the selected dump sites. The data were put on a tabular form and it was
analyzed statistically like frequency counts and simple percentages for the structured segment of
the questionnaire. Results: 75% of respondents were under age 45, while the average ranged
between 20 and 49 years. 72.5% of the participants included in the study were males and 27.5%
were females. 70% of respondent have no educational background. Only 12.5% take bath and
wash their cloths 3 to 4 days per week. More importantly 24.5% of them reported to take a bath
twice per days. 80.5 % of Scavengers change their regular dress. 23.5% don’t brush their teeth
regularly. 56% of those were using piped water for drinking supplied by WASA. Only 17.5
percent scavengers take their lunch properly & regularly but they take their dinner regularly.
Most of the scavengers suffered with low back pain (65%), fever (44%), common colds (39%),
and headache (69%). Other problems included gastric pain (34%), skin rashes (14%), asthma
(15%), and diarrhea (25%) (Scavengers could have experienced more than one symptom).10% of
respondents suffering from sleeping disturbance. Small cut & nick injury is most common in
scavenging work. Conclusion: Scavenging is an inhuman economic activity that is harmful for
their health because of work in an unhygienic and unpleasant environment; but there is no other
opportunity for livelihoods. The most common diseases amongst these scavengers were back
pain, digestion problems and skin problems. Regarding their consultations for treatment, they
cannot afford treatment by the doctors due to the reasons of lack of awareness and poverty.
Description:
This thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Pharmacy (M.Pharm) in East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.