Study of morbidity pattern among migrant workers in a coastal city of Karnataka

Background: Knowledge about the health status of migrants is often limited due to lack of data. This is because migrants are often excluded from surveys. Immigrants from disease-endemic areas settle in urban slums with highly vector-receptive and unprotected housing, introducing new and drug-resistant strains. Aims and objectives: 1. Study of Morbidity Pattern among Migrant Workers Material and Methods: Migrant population in coastal city was the study population. Study duration: From December 2015 to April 2016.Study design: Cross sectional study. Subjects of this study included migrant population located in 3 different areas of coastal city. Clinical examination was done at the site of camp. Pretested questionnaire was used to collect data by interview method. Results and Discussion: A total 300 migrant workers were included in the study, of this 75.33%were male workers and 24.67% were female workers. 39.33%of the workers belonged to the age group of 21-30 years. Amongst the migrants workers, musculoskeletal symptoms ranked 1st in 43.33% subjects. 22.66% migrants had skin problem followed by fever which was seen in 20.66% migrants. Other important illness seen in the migrants were gastrointestinal problems (9%) respiratory problems (8%) and urinary tract infections (6.66%).Only 6% of the migrants had complained of having malaria. Injuries were seen in 3.3% migrants. Conclusion: This study has shown the pattern of health problems amongst migrant workers, which can contribute to further development of health promotion strategies for migrant workers.