DOI: N/A
Abir MI, Chowdhury MR, Aktar S, Hossain S, Tabassum N, Foyzunnahar M, Mita AK, *Abbas MG
Background: Solid waste pickers play an essential role in recycling and waste recovery in Dhaka City, yet they remain marginalized, working under unsafe conditions. Our aim was to evaluate HRQoL and its determinants among solid waste pickers in Dhaka.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 265 solid waste pickers from 11 Secondary Transfer Stations (STS) under Dhaka City Corporation using cluster sampling technique. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires incorporating the EQ-5D descriptive system and its Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Health status was measured using UK-based weights, where higher scores indicated better health. To ensure consistency with the EQ-5D utility score, VAS values were rescaled to range from 0 to 1.
Results: The study revealed a very high prevalence of workplace injuries (98.5%). Among chronic conditions, asthma/COPD was most common (40.9%), followed by skin diseases (24.9%) and back pain (22.3%). Use of protective equipment was generally low. Despite these challenges, participants reported relatively high health-related quality of life, with a mean EQ-5D utility score of 0.839 (±0.161) and a mean EQ-VAS score of 82.14 (±16.41). However, substantial proportions reported pain/discomfort (81.1%) and anxiety/depression (45.7%), with statistically significant associations identified across gender, age, income, and work experience.
Conclusion: Solid waste pickers in Dhaka face serious occupational and health challenges that negatively impact their HRQoL, despite showing resilience in self-rated health. Improving their conditions requires urgent policy attention, including the provision of personal protective equipment, health education, access to healthcare, and formal recognition. Targeted occupational and social protection measures are essential to improve their HRQoL and urban sustainability in Dhaka.