ArticleSafety and health at work2025
Occupational Safety and Health Risks of Informal Waste Workers in Nepal: A Mapping Review.
Article in Safety and health at work, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Informal waste workers (IWWs) are a crucial yet under-protected worker population. IWWs in low- and middle-income countries encounter numerous occupational safety and health (OSH) hazards but are without regulatory protections. In Nepal, rapid urbanization and inadequate waste management systems have led to thousands of IWWs. The objective of this mapping review is to synthesize the existing literature on OSH hazards encountered by Nepalese IWWs. Evidence on this worker population in Nepal has yet to be summarized and this review highlights practice and research gaps that can inform future evidence-based policies and interventions. Methods: Inclusion criteria included English language research (1996-2024) exploring OSH risks in Nepalese IWWs. Studies focusing on formal workers, non-Nepalese, or non-OSH outcomes were excluded. Five databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL, and Journals@Ovid) and grey literature (WorldCat, Dimensions, OpenAlex, and Google Scholar) were searched, compiled, and analyzed using Covidence . Results: A total of N = 6 studies were included in the study (four cross-sectional and two mixed methods) with a total 2,860 participants, predominantly from the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. High prevalence of physical injury (66.2%), respiratory symptoms (69.9%), elevated blood lead levels (mean: 11.68 μg/dL), and mental health issues (27.4% depressive symptoms) were reported. Similarly, personal protective equipment (PPE) use was limited (32.4%), with IWWs citing cost and discomfort as primary reasons for not using it. Women IWWs were subject to higher mental health risks and social stigma. Conclusion: Nepalese IWWs are exposed to severe OSH risks driven by systemic neglect. Prioritized interventions include formalization of work, increasing PPE access, and gender-inclusive policies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.