Geleta Debela Hinsermu, Alemayehu Mekuriaw, Asrade Geta, Mekonnen Tesfaye Hambisa
The National Regional State of Oromia, Labour and Social Affairs Bureau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jan 28;21(1):232. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10254-5.
Over the last decade, flower farms have been rapidly growing in Ethiopia. Following the advent and development of the sector, various work-related chemical, biological, physical, psychosocial, and ergonomic hazards have been emerging unacceptably, with increased risks of exposures for workers and local communities. However, evidence that describes knowledge and prevention practice of occupational hazards among flower farm workers in the country is little documented. The knowledge and safety practice of occupational hazards among flower farm workers in Ethiopia were explored in the current study.
A cross-sectional survey of 471 flower farm workers was implemented from March to April 2017. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the eligible participants. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data, and the data were entered in to Epi Info program version 7 and analyzed by SPSS program version 20. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate significance of associations at < 0.05 p-values.
A total of 451 flower farm workers were interviewed with a response rate of 95.7%. The majority, 72.1% (N = 325) were females. Mean age was 24.1 (SD + 6.5) years. About 39.2% (N = 177) of the participants had good knowledge on occupational hazards. The level of safety practice was 26.6% (N = 120). The level of knowledge on occupational hazards was affected by level of education [AOR: 20.03;95% CI (16.30,23.75)], work experience [AOR: 5.97; 95% CI (4.22,7.72)], and type of employment [AOR: 5.35; 95% CI (2.50,8.19)], whereas the level of safety practice was influenced by regular use of personal protective equipment (PPE) [AOR:17.53;95% CI (13.36,21.71)], level of knowledge [AOR: 7.29; 95% CI (3.87,10.73)], and provision of appropriate PPE [AOR: 4.59; 95% CI (2.34,8.86)].
This study revealed the levels of knowledge and safety practice towards occupational hazards were low. The knowledge on occupational hazards was significantly affected by the level of education and duration of employment. Moreover, the use of PPE and level of knowledge considerably influenced safety practice. Therefore, we recommend employers to ensure that workplace health and safety programs account for workers' level of education and work experience. It is also pivotal to provide workers witha suitable PPE and instructions on its use, and to arrange safety communication in the local languages at the relevant workplaces.
在过去十年中，埃塞俄比亚的花卉农场迅速发展。随着该行业的出现和发展，各种与工作相关的化学、生物、物理、社会心理和工效学危害不断出现，且不可接受，工人和当地社区面临的接触风险增加。然而，该国花卉农场工人职业危害知识及预防实践的相关证据鲜有记载。本研究对埃塞俄比亚花卉农场工人职业危害的知识和安全实践进行了探索。
2017年3月至4月，对471名花卉农场工人进行了横断面调查。采用分层随机抽样技术选取符合条件的参与者。通过访谈式问卷收集数据，并将数据录入Epi Info 7程序，使用SPSS 20程序进行分析。采用双变量和多变量线性回归分析评估p值<0.05时关联的显著性。
共对451名花卉农场工人进行了访谈，回复率为95.7%。大多数（72.1%，N = 325）为女性。平均年龄为24.1（标准差±6.5）岁。约39.2%（N = 177）的参与者对职业危害有良好的了解。安全实践水平为26.6%（N = 120）。职业危害知识水平受教育程度[AOR：20.03；95%CI（16.30，23.75）]、工作经验[AOR：5.97；95%CI（4.22，7.72）]和就业类型[AOR：5.35；95%CI（2.50，8.19）]的影响，而安全实践水平受个人防护装备（PPE）的常规使用[AOR：17.53；95%CI（13.36，21.71）]、知识水平[AOR：7.29；95%CI（3.87，10.73）]和提供适当PPE[AOR：4.59；95%CI（2.34，8.86）]的影响。
本研究表明，花卉农场工人对职业危害的知识水平和安全实践水平较低。职业危害知识水平受教育程度和就业时长的显著影响。此外，PPE的使用和知识水平对安全实践有很大影响。因此，我们建议雇主确保工作场所健康与安全计划考虑到工人的教育程度和工作经验。为工人提供合适的PPE及其使用说明，并在相关工作场所用当地语言安排安全宣传也至关重要。
