Occupational Stress and Health Impacts Among Public Sector Bus Drivers: A Cross-sectional Study, Edition 1

Introduction: Occupational stress refers to the pressure that individual workers feel around their work conditions. It's a significant factor that affects individuals, groups, and communities. Occupational stress is an important health issue in a variety of occupations and has been associated with health problems and risk-taking behaviours. Drivers, in particular bus drivers, have very stressful jobs as they work shifts for long hours creating exposure to unhealthy levels of pollutants and a higher rate of sickness absenteeism. The purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence and associated factors of occupational stress among Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus drivers in Kolar, Karnataka.

Objectives: Among KSRTC bus drivers in Kolar.

To determine the stress level in occupation among KSRTC bus drivers.
To determine association between the stress and occupation-related factors.
To assess the health status among KSRTC drivers.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, at the KSRTC depot in Kolar, which serves both urban and rural areas. The depot employs 729 staff, including bus drivers, conductors, mechanics, housekeeping, and administrative staff. Out of 654 bus drivers, a representative sample of 235 was selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected through a list of permanently employed staff from the depot's authority to ensure accuracy and relevance.

Results: The study among KSRTC bus drivers in Kolar found that 65% experienced moderate to severe stress. Significant factors associated with occupational stress included urban residency, divorce, chronic alcohol consumption, current tobacco chewing, hypertension, higher BMI, long working hours, and high waist-hip ratio. Binary logistic regression revealed significant associations between these variables with stress levels. We found that urban residents had significantly higher odds of experiencing stress compared to rural residents (OR=1.27, p=0.03). Divorced individuals and chronic alcoholics also showed higher odds of stress (OR=1.24, p=0.05 and OR=1.33, p=0.04, respectively). Significant associations were identified between stress and hypertension (OR=1.40, p=0.01), obesity (OR=1.30, p=0.03), morbid obesity (OR=1.47, p=0.01), high-risk waist-hip ratios (OR=1.42, p=0.01), and longer working hours (>12 hours, OR=1.30, p=0.03). Health assessments revealed a high prevalence of hypertension and obesity.

Conclusion: The study highlights the alarming prevalence of occupational stress among KSRTC bus drivers in Kolar, with 65% experiencing moderate to severe stress. Factors such as urban residency, lifestyle habits, and physiological parameters were found to significantly contribute to this stress burden. These results highlight the importance of population-specific health promotion programmes and policy amendments to improve the health of essential workers and road safety in general.