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Occupational Health 2018
Journal of Nursing and Health Studies
ISSN: 2574-2825
Page 68
May 28-29, 2018
London, UK
4
th
Edition of International Conference on
Occupational Health and
Safety
Background:
Most miners who worked in apartheid South Africa
came from the Transkei, which is one of the four former nominally
independent black homelands of South Africa. Thousands
of mineworkers returned home when they became disabled.
Little research has yet been conducted into the needs of those
mineworkers who developed hearing loss, which is recognised as
a major problem in the mining industry.
Objective:
To study the prevalence of loss of hearing among the
retired mineworkers of the Transkei.
Method:
BetweenMay 1997 andMay 2000, 2027 ex-mineworkers
were examined at the Benefit Examination Clinic, which is located
in the Chest Section of Umtata General Hospital (UGH), the
teaching hospital of the University of Transkei Medical School
in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. A structured
questionnaire was posted to 677 randomly selected ex-
mineworkers. Data from the 406 (63%) completed questionnaires
received back were compiled and analysed by means of the Epi 6
Info computer program.
Results:
Hearing loss was indicated by 219 (54%) of the
respondents, of whom 72 (33%) were between 40 and 59 years
of age. Of the 182 (45%) workers who had worked between 10
to 19 years in the mines, 40 (22%) indicated experiencing a loss
of hearing. A strong association between hearing loss and years
spent mining was detected (ρ < 0.05 and X2 is 12.4).
Conclusion:
Many (54%) of the ex-mineworkers from the Transkei
were found to be afflicted with hearing loss. Such a health
problem demands much attention from occupational hygienists
and the compensation authorities.
meelbanwari@yahoo.comPrevalence of hearing loss among former mineworkers of the
former black homeland of the Transkei, South Africa
BL Meel
Walter Sisulu University, South Africa
J Nurs Health Stud 2018, Volume 3
DOI: 10.21767/2574-2825-C2-006