Occupational Health and Safety Related Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Wood and Metal Workers in Hawassa, Ethiopia

Background: Workplace accidents affect young people and developing countries share the largest job related incidences and diseases. Micro and small enterprises (MSE) are in rapid expansion in Ethiopia and they consist mostly of young age groups.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in Hawassa (Jan. to Mar., 2014), Ethiopia. The subjects were 382 respondents, all eligible workers at MSE wood and metal workshops in Hawassa. The study design was institution based cross-sectional and the data were collected by interviewing and administering semi-structured questionnaires which included demographic characteristics, and questions specifically designed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of the study subjects. Knowledge and attitude were measured using composite score and data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 computer software to determine descriptive statistics.

Results: The response rate of the study was 92.7%. The majority, 84.9% (299), of the respondents was males and 15.1% (53) were females; 36.2% (128) were aged 25 – 29 years and 34.7% (123) completed secondary school. Regarding their work environment 94.2% (325) reported presence of excessive dust, 99.2% (350) disturbingly high sound, 89.5% (316) radiation from welding and 99.4% (338) used chemicals in the workplace during painting / spraying. Only 30.5% (108) knew that exposure to chemicals (inhaled sprays, spilled on body etc.) during work causes problem on health. Regarding knowledge related to occupational health and safety (OHS) 83.1% (294) responded 75% and above correctly while regarding attitude 87.2% (309) have shown to have 75% and above favorable attitude towards acceptable OHS principles. Concerning practice on using personal protective equipment (PPE) , out of the 6 PPE mentioned, only 37.3% (132) reported that they use three or more of them sometimes or always. Only 33.9% (120) and 5.4% (19) of the respondents reported that they had training on OHS before they started work and within the last one year respectively.

Conclusion and Recommendation: The overall knowledge, attitude and practice related to OHS MSE wood and metal workers in Hawassa pose a public health concern. This calls for urgent intervention in providing on job training as well as implementing safer work environment, medical checkups and improved pre-service training for new staff.