A study on work related health and social risks of some female domestic workers in Ankara

Domestic work is generally carried out by women and unpaid. When it is done for the wage with the names such as the housekeeper, housemaids, domestic helper and caretaker, it is also regarded as a low-value, low-wage and unskilled way of work. With this research, it was aimed to describe the health and social risks related to domestic work. A descriptive study carried out in 2017. 104 domestic workers who are working in the central districts of Ankara and doing major cleaning work were reached by snow ball technique and social networks. In-depth interviews were conducted via semi-structured forms among 5 participants. Mean age of domestic workers is 42.56. 80.8% of the women are married. 86.6% have secondary and lower education status. 39.4% of domestic workers have had an accident one or more times in the past year at work or in the commute. Domestic workers who worked more than 10 years had more accidents (p=0.036). The use of gloves was significantly higher in those who were trained in occupational health and safety (p=0.002) and less than 5 days of weekly working time (p=0.007). 39.4% of domestic workers rated their health as good and very good. Over the past year, 34.6% of women have been exposed to violence at least once in the working environment. Participation in household decisions is diminishing when the contribution of domestic workers to family income decreases (p=0,000). To promote social and economic empowerment of domestic workers; effective interventions should be done with a gender perspective for occupational health and safety risk areas such as working hours, precarious work, uncertain job description, lack of insurance and social security, education situation, use of personal protective equipment, ergonomic and chemical risks.