Health, Safety and Environment - International Labour Organization

Manual 2:HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENTFOR “GRASSROOTS” MEMBERS Body mappingActivity – Body mappingAIMSTo help us to: use body mapping to identify symptoms of ill healthTASKYour educator/facilitator will draw some body maps on posters, and will arrange forsmall groups of participants who do similar work to be formed.In your small group:1. Each participant should place marks (X) on to the body map to show anysymptoms of ill health that they or others have at their places of work.2. You can use different colours to identify different symptoms. For example:X aches and pains – blueXXXbreathing difficulties, coughing – blackstress related disorders – greenany other problems such as skin rashes, runny eyes and nose, dizziness,reproductive disorders and so on – red3. As you apply the X, explain briefly why you placed the X in the particular place4. Make sure that there is someone in your small group that briefly notes downwhat is said around the body map and can report back your views5. Your educator/facilitator will organise a short discussion afterwards to shareyour ideasWhat is body mapping?Body mapping is a way of identifyingcommon patterns of health problemsamongst workers in a particularworkplace, normally doing the sameor a similar job. While it isn’t certainthat any such common ailments arework-related, it highlights areas forfurther investigation.Photo: courtesy of the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers, UK.38 Health, Safety and EnvironmentA Series of Trade Union EducationManuals for Agricultural Workers