Environmental and Organizational Factors Associated with Elbow/Forearm and Hand/Wrist Disorder among Sewing Machine Operators of Garment Industry in Ethiopia

Occupational health problems related to upper limp musculoskeletal disorders were the major issue among sewing machine operators of garment industries in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of work related elbow and wrist musculoskeletal disorders among sewing machine operators of garment industries in Galan City, Oromia Regional State. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1 to 30, 2012. A total of 422 study subjects were included in this study. Standard Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to collect detailed information on musculoskeletal symptom, sociodemographic data, and factors associated with the problems through face to face interview. From a total of 422 sewing machine operators included in the study 370 (87.7%) were females and 306 (72.5%) were in the age group of <30 years. The prevalence of self-reported work related elbow and wrist musculoskeletal disorders was 40% and 37.7%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, those who had >16 years of service were about five times more likely to develop elbow and wrist musculoskeletal disorders than those who had short (1-5 years) year of services [AOR = 4.7, 95% CI: 1.55-13.02], physical activities [AOR = 5.02, 95% CI: 1.57-16.00], and methods of payment [AOR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.23-3.28], factors significantly associated with this disorders. Work related elbow and wrist musculoskeletal disorders were high among sewing machine operators in selected garment industries. Moreover, personal and environmental factors were identified as the potential risk factors related to elbow and wrist musculoskeletal disorders among the study group. Therefore, government and the owner of the garment industries should give special attention to prevent and control the problems through proper occupational health and safety policy implementation in the country.