Risk Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders of Farm Women during Livestock Activities – A Comparison of RULA and REBA Tools

Abstract

Women play a major role in the livestock production activities in India. The female share in the agricultural labor force in case of India is about 30 per cent. Involvement of women in livestock activities can improve gender equity also. Most of the livestock activities like fodder cutting, milking the animals, maintenance of animal sheds and its allied functions have been performed by rural women. While performing these livestock activities, there may be many physical hazards such as lifting and carrying heavy loads; work with the trunk frequently flexed, twisted wrist and repetitive motion. This may lead to chronic or acute musculoskeletal diseases. Hence, it would be useful to assess the risk for musculoskeletal disorders involved with each activity for adopting measures. The present study was conducted in randomly selected ten villages of Deesa Taluka. From each selected village, fifteen farm women were selected by random sampling, who was actively involved in performing livestock activities. The study is focused on analyzing risk for musculoskeletal disorders while performing various livestock activities. Most of the livestock activities were rated as high risky and change was required immediately.