An Economic and Health Status of Fishermen in Tiruchendur

Abstract

Good health is an essential not only for the personal development of an individual but also for the development of a nation as a whole. Health is very essential to lead a happy life for an individual, and also necessary for all productive activities in the society. Disease results from a complex interaction between the man, the agent and the environment. Disease arises when there is maladjustment of the individual with his environment. The health of workers on a large measure will also be influenced by conditions prevailing at their work place. The example of one such occupation in which the environment plays a major roleis fishing. Fishing is one such hazardous occupation, which involves irregular diet, stress, alcoholism, tobacco and pernicious habits. Fishermen have lower socio-economic status and their illiteracy adds to their poor oral hygiene, which may influence general and oral health.Fishermen have prolonged hours of continuous work, which are found to be correlated with high cigarette and alcohol consumption. Diet lacks fruits and vegetables and meals are eaten at very erratic intervals. Fishermen are prone to excess ultraviolet radiation due to constant exposure to sun.They are economically backward. They have no permanent and regular income. In Thoothukudi district, Amali Nagar is one of the prominent fishing centres. In Amali Nagar, the fishermen are confronted witha lot of economic problems and faced a great challenge to maintain their good health status. Hence the study is undertaken by the researcher. Thepresent study analysing various problems encountered by the fishermen in Amali Nagar. Despite dangerous nature of fishing occupation very little research have been conducted reported on Health status of fishermen’s health and safety even in India. The research on this group of population is limited. Therefore the present study was executed to assess and compare the status and Health care treatment needs of fishermen population at Tiruchendur in Tamil Nadu.