Journal of Agromedicine最新文献

This brief highlights the development and administration of Lifejackets for Lobstermen and its successor, Lifejackets for Fishermen. These programs provide education about, physical access to, and monetary incentives for personal floatation devices (PFDs). Preliminary data shows that commercial fishermen in New England have increased their PFD wear rates significantly since the launch of these programs in 2019.

One Health approaches emphasize intersections between animal health, environmental well-being and human health. Unfortunately, one health approaches rarely explicitly encompass occupational health and safety. This short report provides a concise introduction to the One Health principle, highlighting its potential relevance to improving occupational health and safety in aquaculture. It draws on recent risk assessment research on mass mortality events in marine salmon aquaculture and Norwegian calls for the implementation of holistic risk assessment approaches within aquaculture that encompass attention to occupational, environmental and animal health to illustrate how such one health approaches can help to improve aquaculture OHS. This report draws on reflections contained in a keynote address to IFISH6 in January 2024.

Objectives: Aquaculture seafood production exists on every inhabited continent. Small-scale, bivalve shellfish farming is a growing industry on the East Coast of the United States. Aquaculture workers in the US experience high injury and illness rates relative to the average worker, and many small-scale aquaculture operations are exempted from national injury and illness reporting requirements. Given current evidence of occupational safety and health (OSH) risks, planned industry expansion, and limited systematic OSH data collection from small aquaculture farms, it is critical to understand challenges and opportunities to promote worker safety and health on these operations.

Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with nine oyster producers in Maryland (n = 8) and Virginia (n = 1) to document their perspectives on occupational safety and health (OSH) issues.

Results: Respondents reported various hazards and safety interventions spanning the hierarchy of controls. Many desired better access to safety training and interventions.

Conclusions: This study contributes to global efforts to improve safety and health in the fast-growing aquaculture sector. Like other developing aquaculture industries, Chesapeake Bay shellfish aquaculture producers face significant OSH challenges, with limited safety resources and guidance. Governmental industry development support should include funding for robust and industry-inclusive OSH surveillance and interventions, concentrating on the most effective hazard control measures, including elimination, substitution, and engineering controls.

Objective: Marine fishing ranks among the most hazardous occupations globally, with risks intensifying for small-sized vessels venturing deeper into the sea due to the scarcity of near-shore fish and high market demand. This study identifies various occupational hazards and the use of safety equipment among small-scale motorized fishers using traditional fishing methods in the southernmost coastal regions of India.

Methods: The primary data were collected from 253 artisanal small-scale motorized fishers through a multi-stage stratified random sampling method. For this purpose, a structured interview schedule, comprising both closed and open-ended questions was employed. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was utilized to compare fishers' perceived impact across various occupational hazard categories, while the frequency distribution of the adoption of life-saving gadgets across various adoption categories was analyzed based on the adoption rate to assess the usage patterns of available life-saving devices.

Results: The findings indicate environmental, psychological, and vessel-related hazards have the greatest impact on fishers, with specific hazards including "cyclones", "collisions", "capsizing", "high currents", "lack of visibility", "fatigue", "stress", "anxiety", and "insomnia". Despite awareness of safety measures, the usage of life jackets and life buoys remains low among fishers. Fishers in motorized crafts benefit from modern communication and navigation tools to mitigate sea-related uncertainties (Mobile phone - 84.19%, GPS - 87.75%, VHF radio - 67.98%, AIS - 20.16%).

Conclusion: The study highlights the urgent need for strict enforcement of safety measures during the registration and renewal processes for fishing vessels. Enhancing safety in this sector necessitates increased safety awareness, comprehensive training, and regular annual inspections.

Aquaculture is a significant sector in Brazil, ranking as the second-largest aquaculture producer in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Despite its importance, the industry poses various risks to workers' health and safety. This study investigates the diseases and injuries prevalent in Brazilian aquaculture through a survey of stakeholders. Through an online questionnaire distributed from March 2021 to April 2022, the study collected data on work-related illnesses and injuries in aquaculture. Among the 38 valid responses, the majority of injuries occurred among male workers aged between 21 and 35 years-old. Common injuries included falls, animal-related incidents, cuts, punctures, and electrical shocks. Notably, two fatalities were reported, emphasizing the importance of safety measures in aquaculture operations. The findings underscore the need for preventive measures and worker and farmer awareness initiatives to mitigate risks in aquaculture. Moreover, the study emphasizes the collective responsibility of employers, authorities, government agencies, and workers in ensuring a safe work environment in aquaculture.

Objective: Work in seafood harvesting and processing has been associated with a range of occupational hazards and associated health problems. However, limited information exists regarding the occupational health risks among workers engaged in seaweed handling.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to map seaweed co-operatives (n = 45), assess working practices, and identify common work-related symptoms, occupational hazards, and interventions in seaweed farming sites (n = 24), across three regions of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Results: Seaweed farming in Zanzibar primarily involves the cultivation of Eucheuma Spinosum, with the majority of workers being women. Common work-related symptoms identified include musculoskeletal symptoms, mainly affecting the wrist (87%), back (84%) and lower limbs (73%). Furthermore, a significant proportion of workers were reported to have skin problems (80%) as well as heat and asthma-related symptoms (51%). Walk-through hazard evaluations of work sites identified a range of occupational hazards, with ergonomic (58-68%), biological (50-63%) and chemical (55-65%) hazards obtaining higher scores across the three regions. Geospatial analysis revealed regional variations in occupational hazards and work-related symptom prevalence, with Unguja South having a statistically significant (p < .05) higher mean prevalence of skin symptoms (95%) and Mjini Magharibi region reporting a higher prevalence of lower limb pain (100%), back pain (100%), and heat-related symptoms (90%). Despite the high hazard scores, interventions were generally lacking across all regions.

Conclusion: Occupational health hazards and adverse health outcomes vary across seaweed farming and processing regions. Tailored interventions will be key to improving workplace health and safety of workers engaged in this sector.

Essential workers were at increased risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, including seafood processors who are often rendered invisible within the public sphere. To examine the health and safety concerns of seafood processors, many who are low income or im/migrant workers on H-2B visas, our team conducted qualitative research with 44 participants. We found that in addition to high occupational health hazards that existed before the pandemic, COVID-19 increased workers' financial risks, which put them in more dangerous health and safety positions, since they needed to work through physical and mental health illness. These financial risks can be seen through the themes of paid sick leave, mental health, economic duress, and primary care access. We conclude with three recommendations to the H-2B visa worker program, which will not only decrease health disparities for im/migrant workers, but also increase health equity across seafood worker populations.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the working and health conditions faced by hookah divers in small-scale fisheries in the Midriff Islands Region of the Gulf of California, Mexico.

Methods: The study was conducted in five fishing communities. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 113 fishers (~15% of the commercial divers in the region). Non-probabilistic snowball sampling was used to identify participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics; a Chi-squared test was used to identify significant correlations.

Results: Most respondents (98%) were men (average age of 41 years), with an average of 17.6 years of commercial diving experience. Only 27% of the divers were certified scuba divers, and 40% had received some type of dive training. Notably, 64% of divers had some chronic illness, and 75% had suffered some type of diving-related injury. Marine animal bites were the most common type of injury. The majority of respondents (97%) fished without the proper permits, and 67% did not have access to social insurance. Lastly, 50% had suffered symptoms of decompression sickness.

Conclusion: The conditions surrounding the employment and health of hookah divers are extremely precarious in the Midriff Islands Region, as has been identified in other parts of the world. This study highlights the need to improve working conditions, implement appropriate training programs, and establish public policies that benefit the divers and the ecosystems upon which they depend.