How do sanitary health workers view themselves in their lives – a qualitative study

Abstract

Every day we see sanitary health workers dedicating their services towards keeping our homes, streets and workplace clean. In South Asian region, sanitary health workers are often exposed to discrimination, health concerns, social injustice and financial difficulties (UNHRC, 2015). In lieu of their social existence, this research aims to explore how sanitary health workers view themselves in their lives. In Psychology, this idea is deliberated under the definition of self-concept. Self-concept is a ‘compilation of individual's belief about oneself, his attributes with regards to who his self actually is’ (Bauminister, 1999). A qualitative methodology, driven by social constructivist approach was designed recruiting 5 Muslim and Christian participants through purposive sampling from Islamabad for a semi-structured interview. An interview guide was based on the conceptualization of Self Concept by Bracken (1992) and Goni (2011). Using Miles and Huberman's Thematic Model (1994), both inductive and deductive approaches were utilized for analysis. Nine Preset codes and five emergent codes were discovered within cyclical data inquiry. High inter-rater percentage agreement was found within reliability checks. It was found that sanitary health workers harbored a harsh worldview and exhibited self discontent, low physical, academic, reflective self-concept and emotional problems. However, they also felt spiritually resilient, competent and self-sufficient. Findings revealed high prevalence of social stigmatization and workplace harassment, in addition to financial, physical and mental health, education, and accommodation problems. This highlights the urgency to attend to their needs to devise suitable policies, awareness drives and laws to safeguard their basic, health, education and workplace rights.