Occupational safety and health status of sanitation workers in urban areas: a pilot study from Wuhan, China.

Sanitation workers' workload increases quickly with rapid urbanization, but there is almost no evidence or policy recommendations for their management in developing countries. This study describes the health status and occupational protection of sanitation workers; it also explores risk factors related to their health status in Wuhan City, China. Three hundred and eighty-five sanitation workers from 54 streets of Wuhan were surveyed. Their prevalence of 2-week illness and arthritis was relatively higher than in the general population in China. Findings related to occupational protection showed that both sanitation workers (users) and their managers (providers) neglected the role of low-cost protection measures, especially masks, soap/hand sanitizer and prejob training (use rate of 7.27%, 26.75% and 43.64%, respectively). High-intensity workload was an important risk factor for 2-week illness, and prejob training was an important protective factor against arthritis.