Respiratory outcomes among plant processing workers in Durban, South Africa.

Plant products used by informal traditional medicine traders go through various methods of manual processing to yield a final single or multi-concoction product; however, the prevalence of potentially associated respiratory outcomes has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to describe respiratory outcomes associated with processing plants among informal traditional medicine traders. Questionnaires related to the preparation of plant products and respiratory outcomes were administered to study participants by trained researchers.

A descriptive study to explore working conditions and childcare practices among informal women workers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: identifying opportunities to support childcare for mothers in informal work.

Background: Although women working in the informal economy are a large and vulnerable group, little is known about infant feeding and childcare practices among these women. The aim of this study was to explore childcare practices among mothers in informal work.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey among mothers with children aged < 2 years working in the informal economy in an urban and a rural site in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Informal-sector occupational hazards: an observational workplace assessment of the traditional medicine trade in South Africa.

Informal traditional medicine markets are trading and processing hubs for a range of plant, animal and mineral materials; however, little is known regarding the occupational risks associated with the processing and handling of these products. The aim of this study was to identify the workplace hazards of the traditional medicine trade. A walk-through observation of the workplace was conducted by two independent observers with formal training in workplace risk evaluation.

Extending Occupational Health and Safety to Urban Street Vendors: Reflections From a Project in Durban, South Africa.

This article focuses on an action-research project which is attempting to extend occupational health and safety to a group of street traders in Durban, South Africa, using a variety of different (and sometimes unconventional) institutional actors. The article is written from the perspective of key people who have played a role in conceptualizing and administering the project and is intended to deepen the conversation about what it means to extend occupational health to the informal economy. It explores this question through a reflection on three key project activities: the setting up of a trader-led health and safety committee, an occupational health and safety training course, and a clinical health assessment.

Towards an Inclusive Occupational Health and Safety For Informal Workers.

Large numbers of workers worldwide work informally. Yet the discipline and practice of occupational health and safety covers largely only formal workers, in formal work places. A comprehensive approach would have to take into account specific hazards faced by those in different occupations, working in "atypical" work places.