A study to assess substance abuse among building consruction workers in urban area of national capital region (NCR)

Abstract

Background: Workers represent half the world’s population and are major contributors to economic and social development. Construction workers include about 5 to 10% of the workforce in industrialized countries. This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence rate of substance abuse among construction workers. find out the type of substance abuse among construction workers. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in an urban area of NCR . After taking informed consent, 100 construction workers from the six different construction sites of Ghaziabad were interviewed using a predesigned questionnaire. Data analysis was done by using SPSS vs 16 software. Results: Out of the total 100 workers a higher proportion was males (71%), belonged to 0-5 education level (51%) and lower socio economic class (54%). Nearly 32.4. % males smoked daily, while 1.4% males consumed alcohol daily. The duration of substance abuse was found to be two years in about 15 % of respondents. Nearly 41% were involved in substance abuse without any specific reason. Majority of those who reported substance abuse belonged to lower class. Conclusion: There is a need of creating supportive environment and to create awareness among workers, so that they can quit substance abuse and sustain with right choices for healthy life.