surprising that less than 4 out of 10 respondents had ever had
periodic medical examination and even these (medical
examinations) were done at the respondents’ instances. This
attitude to medical examinations will not help the early detection
of diseases20 and it is different from what was reported in a
study on occupational health services in manufacturing
industries in Nigeria where all(100%) of the workers studied had
undergone the pre-employment medical examination and most
had had periodic medical examination done21
.
Most of the respondents (96.3%) were aware of protective
measures and the commonest preventive measure was safety
devices. The devices listed under this included caution tapes,
warning signs, safety slogans and notices, warning alarm and
gas or smoke detectors. This is important as it has been
documented that these safety devices helps to create safety
awareness among workers19. All the respondents abided by the
factory’s safety measures and instructions and about threequarters
of them said they complied because of their personal
safety. This shows that the workers have a high value for
personal safety and this is likely to reduce the incidence of
work-related injuries and diseases. Most of the respondents
(97.8%) used protective equipments and about 9 out of 10
respondents used the protective equipment regularly and the few
that did not use protective gadgets were those not directly
involved with production. This is contrary to what was reported
by different studies in Egypt and Nigeria (Sokoto) where
workers were reluctant to use protective clothing10,12
.
Nearly all the respondents (98.9%) expressed willingness in
updating their knowledge about hazards and hazards prevention.
This is probably due to the high level of awareness of
occupational hazards among the respondents. Many of the
respondents (86%) had attended training on industrial safety or
hazards prevention and this contributed to the high level of
awareness among them as many of them learnt about the
occupational hazards from these training sessions. About 90% of
these respondents attended training sessions within the factory
which shows commitment on the part of the management to the
safety of the workers and this is necessary because an unsafe
work place indicates that something is wrong within the
management system 22,23
.
About 20% of the respondents had suffered injuries while at
work and 17% had been absent from work on account of workrelated
injuries in the last 1 year preceding the study. Most of the
respondents (90.6%) who had suffered a form of work-related
injury agreed that the injury could have been prevented. This
implies that with more attention to preventive practices, most of
these accidents could have been prevented. Seven out of 10
respondents had never seen government agents coming to
inspect the factory. The government may need to review her
stand on this issue as it will be necessary for regulatory agencies
to keep a closer watch on potentially hazardous factories so as to
ensure the optimum health of workers. Also absence of effective
factory inspection has been documented as one of the reasons
for worsening work-related injuries10
.
Conclusion and recommendation
The level of awareness about occupational hazards was very
high among respondents and the major source of awareness was
on-the-job training on safety at work. There was a high level of
compliance with safety measures with a modest prevalence of
work-related injury, but the rate of periodic medical examination
was low among respondents. It is recommended that periodic
medical examination policy be adopted by management and that
surprising that less than 4 out of 10 respondents had ever had
periodic medical examination and even these (medical
examinations) were done at the respondents’ instances. This
attitude to medical examinations will not help the early detection
of diseases20 and it is different from what was reported in a
study on occupational health services in manufacturing
industries in Nigeria where all(100%) of the workers studied had
undergone the pre-employment medical examination and most
had had periodic medical examination done21
.
Most of the respondents (96.3%) were aware of protective
measures and the commonest preventive measure was safety
devices. The devices listed under this included caution tapes,
warning signs, safety slogans and notices, warning alarm and
gas or smoke detectors. This is important as it has been
documented that these safety devices helps to create safety
awareness among workers19. All the respondents abided by the
factory’s safety measures and instructions and about threequarters
of them said they complied because of their personal
safety. This shows that the workers have a high value for
personal safety and this is likely to reduce the incidence of
work-related injuries and diseases. Most of the respondents
(97.8%) used protective equipments and about 9 out of 10
respondents used the protective equipment regularly and the few
that did not use protective gadgets were those not directly
involved with production. This is contrary to what was reported
by different studies in Egypt and Nigeria (Sokoto) where
workers were reluctant to use protective clothing10,12
.
Nearly all the respondents (98.9%) expressed willingness in
updating their knowledge about hazards and hazards prevention.
This is probably due to the high level of awareness of
occupational hazards among the respondents. Many of the
respondents (86%) had attended training on industrial safety or
hazards prevention and this contributed to the high level of
awareness among them as many of them learnt about the
occupational hazards from these training sessions. About 90% of
these respondents attended training sessions within the factory
which shows commitment on the part of the management to the
safety of the workers and this is necessary because an unsafe
work place indicates that something is wrong within the
management system 22,23
.
About 20% of the respondents had suffered injuries while at
work and 17% had been absent from work on account of workrelated
injuries in the last 1 year preceding the study. Most of the
respondents (90.6%) who had suffered a form of work-related
injury agreed that the injury could have been prevented. This
implies that with more attention to preventive practices, most of
these accidents could have been prevented. Seven out of 10
respondents had never seen government agents coming to
inspect the factory. The government may need to review her
stand on this issue as it will be necessary for regulatory agencies
to keep a closer watch on potentially hazardous factories so as to
ensure the optimum health of workers. Also absence of effective
factory inspection has been documented as one of the reasons
for worsening work-related injuries10
.
Conclusion and recommendation
The level of awareness about occupational hazards was very
high among respondents and the major source of awareness was
on-the-job training on safety at work. There was a high level of
compliance with safety measures with a modest prevalence of
work-related injury, but the rate of periodic medical examination
was low among respondents. It is recommended that periodic
medical examination policy be adopted by management and that
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..