Comprehensive Women Health Services at Beverage-Producing Industries of Limpopo (South Africa): Women’s Perspective
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998: Protects workers from unfair discrimination including gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, and family responsibility.
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997: Gives effect to the right to fair labor practices and maternity leave protection. Women have the right to four months of maternity leave and further stipulate that employees have a right to at least four consecutive months’ unpaid maternity.
- Equal pay protection: A code of good practice on equal pay for work of equal value states that the equal pay principle addresses a specific aspect of industries discrimination which includes gender and sex.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Setting
2.2. Research Design
2.3. Population and Sampling
2.4. Data Collection
2.5. Data Analysis
2.6. Trustworthiness
3. Results
3.1. Diverse Experiences Related to Available Women’s Health Services
3.1.1. Description of Diverse Measures of Dealing with Women’s Health
- Participant 1:
- “They give them gifts which in women’s day which include feminine wash and wipes, manicure and massage vouchers, pamphlets on diet and healthy eating, breast self-examination, healthy diets”.
- Participant 2:
- “They are not addressed because most of the staff here are men, we women we are not many and sometimes our supervisors don’t understand when we report things like period pains they think we don’t want to work”.
- Participant 3:
- “And they sometimes teach us on breast cancer and cervical cancer more especially on women’s month”.
3.1.2. Lack of Involvement of Women in Policy/Procedures Development that Affects Women’s Health
- Participant 1:
- “We are not involved in policy development, usually they involve our unions most of the time”.
- Participant 5:
- “They don’t involve us they just give us policies”.
- Participant 12:
- “They only give us the platform to participate in policies and regulations development through our unions and after that, the unions will inform us on what the agreement was and how we will benefit from the policy, we are not fully engaged on the process”.
3.1.3. Dissatisfaction Regarding the Current Women’s Health Services Provided
- Participant 3:
- “The is no specific for services women, it is just primary health care which general the only thing which is specific for women is that we supply them with sanitary towel We do give health education on birth control and we encourage them to go the local clinic and do pap smear but this is not enough for a woman”.
- Participant 5:
- “They must take our health seriously we have a lot of things sometimes you come to work with stress from home, as women we have a lot of problems which affect our work. They must also allow us to ventilate our problems as women-only thus are important”.
- Participant 9:
- “They do not emphasize much on women’s needs e.g., you will find out that you are on your periods and you forgot pads/tampons at home they do not provide us with that which is not good because of the periods are undetectable. They do give us pain medication when we are in pain”.
3.2. Knowledge Related to Women’s Health Services
3.2.1. Satisfactory Knowledge Regarding the Concept of Women’s Health
- Participant 6:
- “Women’s health means you must take care of yourself as women because we are vulnerable to things like cancer. The other thing is we must talk as women to avoid stress because we women have a lot of problems and sometimes we bottle these problems. you can have a stroke”.
- Participant 7:
- “A women’s health is very important as women we must stop having fear and humiliation to go and do different tests that can assist us. Man must respect women by involving men in things like abuse that is affecting and hurting women”.
- Participant 10:
- “Women health relate to issues that concern women then it’s gonna be cancers that affect women, other diseases also, like BP, diabetes it’s gonna be breast cancers and then cervical cancer”.
3.2.2. Satisfactory Knowledge of Basic Employment Act-Maternity Leave
- Participant 11:
- “We do have policies which guide us when a female employee pregnant and working in a place where the workload is heavy or not safe for them they are removed and placed in a light-duty and safe place for both mother and baby. They are also entitled to 4 months’ maternity leave and also there is a policy that addresses women’s abuse and sexual abuse were disciplinary procedures take place”.
- Participant 12:
- “I never heard of any policy, but when we are pregnant they give us maternity leave for four months and they also remove us from our stations to light duty”.
- Participant 15:
- “We have policies which address women such as maternity leave policies …they will give you 4 months maternity leave and sometimes they remove you from working inside the plant and put you outside where there is no noise. If you are pregnant you must go to the clinic and inform the sister she will assist you”.
3.3. Diverse Description of Women’s Health Services Practice
3.3.1. Description of Diverse Measures of Addressing Women Violence
- Participant 5:
- “They do have policies but I was never affected, sometimes they shout at us but we understand that they want work to be done. They are very strict on violence if you report they discipline them immediately”.
- Participant 8:
- “They take that as a serious offense and they can dismiss you about that”.
- Participant 12:
- “Violence against women is a serious offense and women are encouraged to report where disciplinary measures are taken. If we are abused the union assists us with the case sometimes they suspend them for six months”.
3.3.2. Diverse Health Hazards that Women Are Exposed to
- Participant 3:
- “Moving machinery, noise, and slippery floor, chemicals were they can get burns, lifting of heavy material, moving machinery, forklifts were they can get bumps”.
- Participant 2:
- “standing for a long time, there is also a lot of noise where I work, the bottles can sometimes also injure you”.
- Participant 5:
- “cleaning chemicals that we use can burn you also the inhalations of those chemicals can make you sick. in some departments, the bottles can also cut or injure you”.
3.3.3. Dissatisfaction Versus Satisfaction of the Provided Health Awareness Campaign for Women’s Health
- Participant 6:
- “we usually have wellness day every year where they call all doctors such as a gynecologist, dentist, optometrist, etc. During this day we bring along our families and they check us and teach us about health issues, but this is not enough for us as women”.
- Participant 8:
- “There is a group that is playing netball and there is a team that organizes awareness for women health were in during women months’ they organize gifts and activities for women. They’re also a team organizing team building for women were in the women go out of province for team building to empower women”.
- Participant 9:
- “In this company, they do wellness campaigns on specific months such as women months were in they teach us on things like cancers and how we check and take of ourselves as women”.
4. Discussion
4.1. Diverse Experiences Related to Available Women’s Health Service
4.2. Knowledge Related to Women’s Health Services
4.3. Diverse Description of Women’s Health Services Practice and Risks
5. Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate
6. Limitations of the Study
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- World Health Organization (WHO). Women and Occupational Health; Issues and Policy Paper Prepared for the Global Commission on Women’s Health; World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland, 2011. [Google Scholar]
- Quinn, M.; Smith, M. Gender, Work, and Health. Ann. Work Expo. Health 2018, 62, 389–392. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- World Health Organization (WHO). Protecting Workers’ Health. 2017. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/protecting-workers'-health (accessed on 10 July 2020).
- Rantanen, J.; Lehtinen, S.; Iavicoli, S. Occupational health services in selected International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) member countries. Scand. J. Work Environ. Health 2012, 39, 1–5. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Wofford, D.; MacDonald, S.; Roehau, C. A call to action on women’s health: Putting corporate CSR standards for industries health on the global health agenda. Glob. Health 2016, 12, 68. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- International Labour Organization. Women at Work: Trends 2016. Available online: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_457317.pdf (accessed on 19 February 2019).
- Ganesan, S.; George, M.; Jap, S.; Palmatier, R.W.; Weitz, B. Supply chain management and retailer performance: Emerging trends, issues, and implications for research and practice. J. Retail. 2009, 85, 84–94. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pearce, M.L. Gendering the Compliance Agenda: Feminism, Human Rights and Violence Against Women. Cardozo J. Law Gend. 2015, 21, 261–265. [Google Scholar]
- Singh, S.; Coetzer, S. SA Laws Protecting Women in the Industries. 2017. Available online: https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/717/166217.html (accessed on 20 July 2020).
- Chen, J.; Schott, J. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Available online: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp (accessed on 15 September 2020.).
- Swanson, N.; Tisdale-Pardi, J.; MacDonald, L.; Tiesman, H.M. Women’s Health at Work. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013. Available online: https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2013/05/13/womens-health-at-work/ (accessed on 20 May 2019).
- Dudley, C.; Kerns, J.; Steadman, K. More than “Women’s Issues” Women’s Reproductive and Gynecological Health and Work: Work Foundation. 2017. Available online: www.theworkfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/ (accessed on 25 June 2019).
- Robroek, S.J.; Van den Berg, T.I.; Plat, J.F.; Burdorf, A. The role of obesity and lifestyle behaviors in a productive workforce. Occup. Environ. Med. 2011, 68, 134–139. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Mbombi, M.O.; Mothiba, T.M.; Malema, R.N.; Malatji, M. The effects of absenteeism on nurses remaining on duty at a tertiary hospital of Limpopo province. Curationis 2018, 41, 1–5. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Catalyst. The Industries that Work for Women: Women in Male-Dominated Industries and Occupations. 2018. Available online: https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-male-dominated-industries-and-occupations (accessed on 25 June 2019).
- Statistics South Africa. Annual Report 2018. Available online: www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=368 (accessed on 20 June 2019).
- International Labour Organization. Global Employment Trends for Women: March 2009. Available online: www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/ (accessed on 28 May 2019).
- Vaismoradi, M.; Turunen, H.; Bondas, T. Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nurs. Health Res. 2013, 15, 398–405. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kensit, D.A. Rogerian theory: A critique of the effectiveness of pure client-centred therapy. Couns. Psychol. Q. 2000, 13, 345–351. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Groenewald, T. A phenomenological research design illustrated. Int. J. Qual. Methods 2004, 3, 42–55. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Babbie, E.; Mouton, J. The Practice of Social Research; Oxford University Press: Cape Town, South Africa, 2011. [Google Scholar]
- Neubauer, B.E.; Witkop, C.T.; Varpio, L. How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others. Perspect. Med. Educ. 2019, 8, 90–97. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Creswell, J.W.; Plano-Clark, V.L.P. Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, 2nd ed.; Sage Publications: London, UK, 2011. [Google Scholar]
- Polit, D.F.; Beck, C.T. Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 9th ed.; Williams & Wilkins: Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2012. [Google Scholar]
- Brink, H.; Van Der Walt, C.; Van Rensburg, G. Fundamentals of Research Methodology for Health Care Professionals; Juta: Cape Town, South Africa, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Korstjensa, I.; Moserb, A. Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research Part 4: Trustworthiness and publishing. Eur. J. Gen. Pract. 2017, 24, 1–5. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Mills, A.; Lin, J. Effect of Company Size on Occupational Health and Safety. Int. J. Constr. Manag. 2014, 4, 29–39. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wilson, J. Safety Management: Problems Encountered and Recommended Solutions. J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 2000, 126, 77–79. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Holmes, N. An Exploratory Study of Meanings of Risk Control for Long Term and Acute Effect Occupational Health and Safety Risk in Small Business Construction Firms. J. Saf. Res. 1999, 30, 61–71. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Risks and Trends in the Safety and Health of Women at Work. European Risk Observatory: A Summary of an Agency Report. 2009. Available online: http://istas.net/descargas/new-risks-trends-osh-women%20EU-OSHA%5b1%5d.pdf (accessed on 27 August 2020).
- Lewis, D. Top Tips for Supporting Women Health in the Industries. 16 January 2020. Available online: https://reba.global/content/top-tips-on-supporting-women-s-health-in-the-workplace (accessed on 28 August 2020).
- Sommer, M.; Chandraratna, S.; Cavill, S.; Mahon, T.; Phillips-Howard, P.A. Managing menstruation in the industries: An overlooked issue in low- and middle-income countries. Int. J. Equity Health 2016, 15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- South African Board of Women Report. Pregnancy in the industries. 2016. Available online: https://hrtodaydotme.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/ujsabppwomensreport2016.pdf (accessed on 10 September 2020).
- Mather, N. From #metoo to #aminext—Addressing Gender-Based Sexual Violence in the Workplace. Available online: https://www.golegal.co.za/gender-based-sexual-violence/ (accessed on 10 September 2020).
- Republic of South Africa. Employment Equity Act, 1998 (Act 55 of 1998 as Amended). Available online: https://www.labourguide.co.za/download-top/135-eepdf/file (accessed on 11 September 2020).
- Botes, J. Not in My Name—Gender Violence in the Industries—Mondaq. Available online: https://www.mondaq.com/southafrica/employment-litigation-tribunals/851004/not-in-my-name-gender-violence-in-the-workplace (accessed on 27 August 2020).
- Lu, J.L. Occupational Health and Safety of Women Workers: Viewed in the Light of Labor Regulations. J. Int. Women’s Stud. 2011, 12, 68–78. [Google Scholar]
Department | Classification of the Hazards | Name of Hazards | Health Problems |
---|---|---|---|
1. Syrup room | Chemical | Sugar dust, cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise | Noise induced hearing loss | |
2. Water treatment | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Slippery floor, noise | Strains and sprains, noise-induced hearing loss | |
3. Laboratory | Chemical | Laboratory chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Sitting/standing for a long time | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
4. Packaging | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise, moving machinery, fork lift | Noise-induced hearing loss, accidents, bums | |
5. Ware house | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise | Noise induced hearing loss | |
6. Stores | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
7. Cooler | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Cold | Hypothermia Susceptibility to colds and flu | |
8. Engineering | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise, heat (boiler), dust (coal dust boiler) | Noise-induced hearing loss, fatigue, exhaustion, susceptibility to cold and flu | |
9. Canteen | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Heat | Burns | |
10. Waste sorting | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Slippery floor, noise | Strains and sprains, noise-induced hearing loss | |
Ergonomics | Poor ergonomics inactivity |
Department | Classification of the Hazards | Name of Hazards | Health Problems |
---|---|---|---|
1. Brewing | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise | Noise induced hearing loss | |
2. Depot sales | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise | Noise induced hearing loss | |
3. Quality Laboratory | Chemical | Laboratory chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Sitting/standing for a long time | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
4. Packaging | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis Irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise, moving machinery, forklift | Noise-induced hearing loss, accidents, bums | |
5. Warehouse | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise | Noise induced hearing loss | |
6. Stores | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
7. Engine room | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Cold | Hypothermia, susceptibility to colds and flu | |
8. Depot | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Noise, heat (boiler), dust (coal dust boiler) | Noise induced hearing loss Fatigue, exhaustion, susceptibility to cold and flu | |
9. Canteen | Chemical | Cleaning chemicals | Allergic rhinitis, irritant, inhalation, allergic dermatitis |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Heat | Burns | |
Ergonomics | Standing for a long time and repetitive movements, lifting | Musculoskeletal disorders | |
Psychological | Shift work | Poor sleeping and eating habits | |
Physical | Slippery floor, noise | Strains and sprains, noise-induced hearing loss | |
Ergonomics | Poor ergonomics inactivity |
Gender | Age | Marital Status | Occupation | Years of Experience | Hazards Classification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Females (13) | 20–28 (5) 29–38 (4) | Single (6) Living with partner (1) | Safety manager (1) Cleaning manager (2) Occupational health nurse (2) | Under 1 year (1) 1–5 (4) 6–10 (4) | Chemicals (cleaning chemicals) Physical (noise, slippery floors, lifting, trapping) |
39–48 (2) 49–58 (2) | Married (5) Divorced (1) | Machine operator (3) Cleaner (5) | 11–15 (3) Over 20 years (1) | Mechanical (moving machinery and bottles) |
Themes | Sub-Themes |
---|---|
1. Diverse experiences related to the available women’s health services |
|
2. Knowledge related to women’s health services |
|
3. Description of practices and risks related to women’s health services |
|
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Muthelo, L.; Mbombi, M.O.; Bopape, M.A.; Mothiba, T.M. Comprehensive Women Health Services at Beverage-Producing Industries of Limpopo (South Africa): Women’s Perspective. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228293
Muthelo L, Mbombi MO, Bopape MA, Mothiba TM. Comprehensive Women Health Services at Beverage-Producing Industries of Limpopo (South Africa): Women’s Perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(22):8293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228293
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuthelo, Livhuwani, Masenyani Oupa Mbombi, Mamare Adelaide Bopape, and Tebogo Maria Mothiba. 2020. "Comprehensive Women Health Services at Beverage-Producing Industries of Limpopo (South Africa): Women’s Perspective" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 22: 8293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228293