Occupational Vision Test in handmade wig makers

Abstract

According to the National Statistical Office in 2017, there were 37.7 million people employed, and 20.8 million were unregistered workers. The handmade wig making is a unique delicate work that requires expertise. They might have health problems if working for a long time. A cross-sectional study was designed to occupationally evaluate vision and factors that affected the work performance of wig makers. The study was conducted in the Lumphuk sub-district, Sawai Chik district, Muang district, Buriram province. Convenient sampling was done for selecting the participants, then the volunteers were invited to participate in the study in January 2018. General information interviews, job characteristics, screening, and vision tests were collected. The most of 91 wig makers were 35-46 years old. About 53% had a duration of work 11-20 years, 47% working 3-8 hours a day. Most of the participants (77%) worked 6-7 days a week. Far vision test for both eyes (Uncorrected) was conducted and found that 31% of 93.4% had the performance of version lower than the normal. Also, near vision testing for both eyes (Uncorrected) was done and found that 67% of them had the performance of vision lower than the normal. About 80% had an unfit vision for the job. Age was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with unfit vision for job (ORadj = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.90). Duration of work, working hours per day, the number of working days a week were not significantly related to the performance of the vision. Suggestions, the ability to use the eyes of wig makers must be appropriate and compatible with the work done. Eyeglasses should be used for working especially when looking close up, rest your eyes every 30 minutes to conserve your eyes, and prevent premature eye deterioration was strongly recommended.