AlMahmoud Tahra, Elkonaisi Ismail, Grivna Michal, Abu-Zidan Fikri M
Department of Surgery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, P.O. Box: 17666, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Zayed Center for Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, UAE.
Inj Epidemiol. 2020 Sep 22;7(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s40621-020-00280-z.
Work-related eye injury causes significant vision loss. Most of these injuries are preventable with appropriate eye safety practices. We aimed to study industrial workers' perceptions of Personal Protective Eyewear (PPE) and its usage in a high income developing country.
A field-based cross-sectional study in small-scale industrial entities was performed in Al-Ain City, UAE during the period of October 2018 to June 2019. Five hundred workers completed a pretested structured questionnaire. Data on demographics, occupational history, work hazard awareness, and PPE usage at their work place were collected.
The workers were experienced, with a median of 15 years in practice. The majority (80%) learned their work skills through apprenticeship (i.e., on-the-job) training. Most (85%) were involved with activities presenting eye injury risk, and were highly aware of this. None of the workers used safety goggles or glasses all the time for activities that need PPE usage. Five percent never used PPE in the workplace. The main reason for not using PPE was the work demands (95%) and poor vision through the lenses (75%). Young age and less work experience were associated with less PPE usage (P < 0.0001). Wearing prescription spectacles had a positive correlation with usage of safety goggles (P = 0.005) and a negative correlation with welding helmet usage (P < 0.0001).
There was a high level of awareness about the value of PPE in the workplace which was not translated into real practice. Educational programs promoting eye safety practices and proper PPE usage should be adopted by workers in small-scale industrial settings.
与工作相关的眼部损伤会导致严重的视力丧失。通过适当的眼部安全措施，这些损伤大多是可以预防的。我们旨在研究高收入发展中国家产业工人对个人防护眼镜（PPE）的认知及其使用情况。
2018年10月至2019年6月期间，在阿联酋艾因市的小型工业实体中进行了一项基于现场的横断面研究。500名工人完成了一份经过预测试的结构化问卷。收集了有关人口统计学、职业史、工作危害认知以及他们工作场所个人防护装备使用情况的数据。
这些工人经验丰富，从业中位数为15年。大多数（80%）通过学徒制（即在职）培训学习工作技能。大多数（85%）从事有眼部受伤风险的活动，并且对此有高度认知。在需要使用个人防护装备的活动中，没有工人一直使用安全护目镜或眼镜。5%的工人在工作场所从未使用过个人防护装备。不使用个人防护装备的主要原因是工作需求（95%）以及透过镜片视力不佳（75%）。年轻和工作经验较少与个人防护装备使用较少相关（P < 0.0001）。佩戴处方眼镜与安全护目镜的使用呈正相关（P = 0.005），与焊接头盔的使用呈负相关（P < 0.0001）。
工人对工作场所个人防护装备价值的认知水平较高，但未转化为实际行动。小型工业环境中的工人应采用促进眼部安全措施和正确使用个人防护装备的教育项目。
