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Brief Reports Indian Pediatrics 2000;37: 1359-1360 |
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Relative Risk and Prevalence of Illness Related to Child Labor in a Rural Block |
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Children are at a tender age where they are in a process of growing up. They need a good and healthy environment for their optimal physical and mental development. There is scant information on child labor from rural areas. The present study was, therefore, conducted to determine the possible socio-economic factors and common childhood illnesses associated with child labor in rural areas.
The study was conducted in Dahanu block of Thane district in Maharashtra in October 1997. Ten clusters (villages/subcenters) from the catchment areas of nine primary health centers were selected, the population ranging from 500-4000. Fifty per cent of the population was surveyed in each center selecting an alternate household as a study unit. The clusters were selected by random sampling. Information was collected regarding common illnesses like diarrhea, acute respira-tory infections, malaria and worm infestation from working children and their point prevalence was estimated. Selected factors known to be associated with the risk of child labor were studied and their relative risk was calculated by Mantel Hanszel method. These factors included father’s occupation and schooling, mother’s occupation and school-ing, family income and child’s schooling.
Among 1679 children in 6-14 years age group, 62 were working (3.8%). The point prevalence for diarrhea, ARI, worm infesta-tion and malaria was higher among working children (Table I). The risk of child labor was higher when the father was an unskilled worker, had schooling less than 5 years, mother had less than 5 years of schooling, she was an agricultural laborer, child had no schooling and when family income was less than Rs. 500 p.m. (Table II).
Child labor is associated with socio-economic compulsions. Therefore, it is expected to be associated with other para-meters of socio-economic under-develop-ment. High rates of malnutrition and ill-health are found among working children(1). Banerjee(2) found different grades of malnutrition in 55.7% male and 29.5% female working children in Calcutta. Eighty three per cent fathers, 93.9% mothers and 55.8% child workers were illiterate. Low per capita income was noted in 70.3% families. A high proportion of working children were found to suffer from respiratory infections (31.8%) and gastrointestinal infections(33.8%). Among agricultural child workers, prevalence of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections were still higher(3). The rates of malnutrition were higher; 77.4% in boys and 88.5% in girls. This study shows high prevalence of gastrointestinal and respiratory infections among child workers. The risk of child labor was higher when father had less years of schooling, unskilled occupation, mother had less years of schooling, mother was an agricultural laborer, when family income was less than Rs. 500 per month and when the child had no schooling. Banerjee found that major determinants of child labor were, general fertility rate, high percentage of agricultural proportion, percentage of home-less population and landless households, general literacy and school enrolment, wage rate and expectation of life at birth(4). These studies suggest that overall development of a community is essential to reduce the severity of the problem of child labor. Funding:
None.
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