Published Paper Details:

ABSTRACT Background: Construction workers are victims of different health problems and the data regarding their health and living conditions are scanty in India. Unorganized workers do not have fixed working hours and the working conditions are non-congenial and risky. Common hazards include exposure to harsh environmental conditions resulting in accidents and adverse health conditions. Objectives: - To study the living conditions of unorganized construction workers. - To identify the common health problems among unorganised construction workers - To assess the awareness levels on social security schemes available to unorganised construction workers Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 104 workers using multistage sampling in Nagarbhavi block in Bangalore. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data by interview method. Informed consent was taken from all the respondents. Results: Majority of the participants (43.2%) was in the age group of 20- 29 yrs. 57(54.8%) were males and 47(45.2%) were females. About 33.0 % of the families stayed at construction building, 30.7 % at rented house and 29.8 % in tents. Nearly 76% of the families did not have toilets and practiced open defecation. Health problems: Majority of the participants had lower limb pain (68.3%) and body ache (43.2%) followed by cough, cold, fever and back pain as common health problems. Cuts and injuries (87.5 %) were the most common accidents encountered. Awareness about Social security schemes: 95.1 % families did not have ration card and none had BPL card. Only 13.5 % were aware about health insurance and benefit schemes. Conclusion: Living conditions of construction workers was poor with high prevalence of health problems and accidents among the workers and their children. Awareness about the social security schemes was very poor.