Research Article Open Access

EFFECTIVENESS OF A PARTICIPATORY ACTION ORIENTED TRAINING INTERVENTION APPROACH AMONG HARVESTERS IN OIL PALM PLANTATION

Ng Yee Guan1, Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin1, Ismi Arif Ismail2, Gede Pramudya Ananta3, Zailina Hashim1, Irwan Syah Mohd Yusoff4, Baba Md Deros5, Shahriman Abu Bakar6 and Azmin Sham Rambely7
  • 1 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
  • 2 Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
  • 3 Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia
  • 4 Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
  • 5 Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
  • 6 School of Mechatronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia
  • 7 Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract

Consistent with the global demand for palm oil, the intensified upstream harvesting activities of oil palms’ fresh fruit bunches, despite the harvesters evidences of various ergonomics risk factors leading to musculoskeletal disorders should be a cause for concern. Thus, this study describes the effectiveness of a modified and locally adapted Participatory Action-Oriented Training intervention program in improving the working environment of the harvesters. A training program modified and customized to the harvesters’ working in oil palm plantation consist of 3 primary instrument (awareness video, interactive lecture and action checklist) with 3 reinforcing activities (to increase knowledge, enhance understanding and practical application). Based on the result of post-intervention assessment, the self-reported prevalence of MSD and KAP score among Intervention Group (IG) did not significantly differ from Control Group (CG). Instead of decreasing, the prevalence of MSD in the past 12 months and 7 days increased within IG. Qualitative findings in this research show that the negative psychosocial and organizational climate has severely affected the implementation of PAOT rendering the effect of the intervention approach. The interventions were ineffective on the IG as this study suffers from various situational barriers as obstacles to benefit the full extent of PAOT advantages.

American Journal of Applied Sciences
Volume 11 No. 4, 2014, 681-693

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2014.681.693

Submitted On: 6 January 2014 Published On: 8 February 2014

How to Cite: Guan, N. Y., Tamrin, S. B. M., Ismail, I. A., Ananta, G. P., Hashim, Z., Yusoff, I. S. M., Deros, B. M., Bakar, S. A. & Rambely, A. S. (2014). EFFECTIVENESS OF A PARTICIPATORY ACTION ORIENTED TRAINING INTERVENTION APPROACH AMONG HARVESTERS IN OIL PALM PLANTATION. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 11(4), 681-693. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2014.681.693

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Keywords

  • Participatory Action-Oriented Approach
  • Intervention
  • Ergonomics
  • Harvester
  • Oil Palm Plantation