scholarly journals Health Hazards, Perceived Health Problems and Safety Compliances among Mortuary Workers in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State

Author(s):  
Noah Oluwatope Emmanuel ◽  
Ukwoma Ilode Police

This study assessed Health Hazards, Perceived Health Problems and Safety Compliances among Mortuary Workers in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Descriptive cross-sectional study recruited 150 eligible respondents from private and public mortuaries, respectively, surveyed from selected mortuaries in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. A structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents which comprises of socio-demographics, occupational history, knowledge and behaviour towards hazards encountered while at their workplace. Descriptive and analytical statistical tools were used to analyze the data. The majority of the respondents were exposed to hazards. The majority of respondents had knowledge of hazards associated with their job, while 11% used personal protective equipment (PPE) always. Hazards abound in mortuaries in Ikwerre L.G.A. even though most workers had received training on hazards and hazards prevention. There was also poor use of PPE by workers of these mortuaries in Ikwerre Local Government Area. It was recommended that health education, provision, enforcement and monitoring of the use of PPE be intensified among this group of workers as measures to mitigate hazards in the study area.

Author(s):  
Barinua K. Gbaranor ◽  
Clinton D. Orupabo ◽  
Nazor P. Barinua Gbaranor ◽  
Peace E. Okpara ◽  
Progress D. Victor

Background: Fibroid is a gynaecological problem that affects women of reproductive age across the globe especially among the black race. This study was done to evaluate the incidence of fibroid and its effects on fertility in Eleme Local Government Area.Methods: It is a cross-sectional study with 60 participants aged 18-28 years, 29-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-59 years and >60 years.Results: The study revealed that 90% of the respondents have fibroid and 10% do not have fibroid. The effects range from painful menstruation, heavy menses, irregular menstruation and infertility at the values of 63.3%, 48.3%, 51.7% and 86.8% respectively.Conclusions: Though the effects of fibroids are universal, our study population seems to show some effects more common to them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
A.B. Umar ◽  
A.H. Dankaka ◽  
M. Manjur Shah

The study is carried out to standardize larval indices namely House Index, Container Index and Breteau Index and also to identify the major breeding sources of mosquitoes in the residential environment in and around the Gwale Local government area of  Kano, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study by selecting 50 houses randomly from the 6 wards of Municipality was employed. Every water holding container indoors and outdoors were counted and searched for larval presence and noted on a pretested format. In this study, 300 houses were surveyed in 21 days out of which 94.33% (283 houses) were found to have potential sources for mosquito breeding. All the entomological indices were found to be above the critical level. House Index = 28.67%; Container Index = 12.14%; Breteau Index = 64.00% showing high chances for outbreaks of mosquito borne diseases. The area is prone to mosquito borne disease like malaria and therefore warrants interventions from the competent.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banibrata Das

Abstract Aims The purpose of this study was to describe the health hazards among child labourers in brickfields, and to assess occupational health problems, together with physiological and respiratory stress, compared with child control subjects. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 112 child brickfield workers and 120 control subjects, and a modified Nordic Questionnaire was applied to assess the discomfort felt among both groups of workers. Physiological assessment of the workload was carried out by the measurement of heart rate, blood pressure and spirometry of the workers. Results Child brickfield workers suffer from pain, especially in the lower back (97%), shoulder (88%), hands (82%), wrist (76%), neck (73%) and ankle (71%). The post-activity heart rate of the child brickfield workers was 166.5 beats/min, whereas the systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 132.2 and 67.2 mm/Hg, respectively. The forced vital capacity value of child brickfield workers was 2.04, and in the case of the controls it was 2.18, which was significantly different. The forced expiratory volumes in 1 s of experimental and control subjects were 1.82 and 1.92, respectively. The peak expiratory flow rate was significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions Most of the brick-making activities were strenuous ones that affected the children. The cardiovascular and respiratory health of the child brickfield workers has changed markedly due to strenuous activity. The child brickfield workers also experienced other occupational health problems and severe musculoskeletal pain.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shila Rani Das ◽  
Nasreen Begum ◽  
Chinmay Biswas ◽  
Md Nazmul Hoq ◽  
Jahangir Hossain

Background: Taking protective equipment is important for poultry workers as they are at risk of poultry hazard. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential for preventing & controlling diseases experienced by poultry processing workers.Aims and Objectives: To assess the awareness about personal protective equipments and health problems among poultry workers.Method and materials: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted under the guidance of the Department of Community Medicine, National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), Dhaka, from March to June 2006 on 100 poultry workers who were selected purposively from six poultry farms from the area of Gazipur districts. Informed consent was obtained and structured questionnaire was used to collect data through face to face interview. Data was edited, processed and analyzed both manually and used of SPSS version 10.Result: Mean age was 27.49% with SD ± 9.84 years, highest age range 59% was 20-30 years. Regarding level of education & economic status revealed that 43% were illiterate and 72% earned 2000-3000 taka monthly. 20% had highest work experience of 6-8 years. 82% of the respondents thought that personal protection is necessary during working in poultry. 79% of the respondents knew the name of PPE. But only 42% use PPE and 58% of the respondents did not use it. Among the user 16% use PPE regularly and 26% use PPE irregularly. Result showed significant association between education and knowledge of diseases of transmission (p<0.004). Observing health hazard 34.71% had respiratory problem 27.27% skin problem 23.14% eye problem. Significant association found between itching (skin problem) and use of PPE (p<0.004).Conclusion : Literate person had more knowledge about disease transmissions. The respondents who used PPE suffered less from health problems. For the safety of poultry workers advocacy arrangements of training program and formulation of guideline and regulations are important points to be considered.Northern International Medical College Journal Vol.5(2) 2014: 336-338


Author(s):  
Shalangwa Ishaku Bata ◽  
Shalom Kumra Byencit

Background and Aim: Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite of public health significance due to its possible transmission to humans through ingestion of tissue cysts in raw or undercooked meat or food or water contaminated with oocysts shed by felids and transplacental transmission. This study was carried out to provide information on the possible risk of transmission through eating undercooked donkey meat by conducting a market based cross-sectional study design to determine the presence of T. gondii antibodies in trade donkeys in Ganawuri district, Riyom Local Government Area, Plateau State, North Central, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: One hundred and thirteen serum samples were collected from trade donkeys at the market and analyzed for T. gondii antibodies using latex agglutination test (LAT). Serum samples with LAT titer >10 μl/ml were considered positive. Results: The distribution of the donkeys based on their sources showed that greater proportions (61.1%) were from North Eastern part of the country. The study showed that 31 of the serum samples collected and analyzed were positive for T. gondii antibodies given an overall prevalence of 27.4%. The prevalence ranges between 22.2 and 33.3% across the states where the donkeys were sourced. The study showed that seropositivity increases with age (p=0.003; OR=11.8) and ranges between 12.5 and 47.2%. The prevalence did not vary significantly based on sex and source/location (p=0.494, OR=0.05; 0.920, 1.45, respectively). Conclusion: This study showed that trade donkeys at Ganawuri district market have antibodies to T. gondii and suggest a public health risk from the consumption of undercooked donkey meat.


Author(s):  
A. L. Olokun ◽  
A. B. Ajide ◽  
J. O. Ihuma

Aims: The study is aimed at isolating and identifying the gram negative bacteria associated with spoilage of tomatoes at Mararaba and Masaka markets, New Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State. Study Design: A cross-sectional study to isolate gram negative bacteria associated with spoilage of tomatoes at Mararaba and Masaka markets, New Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State. Place and Duration of Study: The isolation of gram negative bacteria was carried out at the Department of Biological Sciences, Bingham University New Karu, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, between January, 2018 and September, 2018. Methodology: The samples collected were crushed with a sterile mortar and pestle after which tenfold serial dilution was carried out using sterile distilled water before inoculating on MaCconkey and Blood agar using the pour plate technique. Colonies were then subjected to gram staining and biochemical test. Results: From the result of the biochemical test, Salmonella spp, Esherichia coli spp, Klebsiella spp and vibrio spp. were the gram-negative bacteria isolated from the tomato samples collected at both markets. Conclusion: Tomatoes sold in an unclean environment that is contamination with food- borne pathogenic bacteria poses a risk to the consumers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-23
Author(s):  
Bibeka Shrestha ◽  
Naresh Manandhar ◽  
Sunil Kumar Joshi

Background: Fabrication work is one of the hazardous occupations in which workers are exposed to different occupational hazards and injuries. But the workers lack proper knowledge about protecting themselves from those hazards. This study was conducted, to assess knowledge about occupational health hazards among fabrication workers and to find out the practice of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in fabrication works. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 394 fabricator workers of Kathmandu District by using a multi-stage sampling technique. Participants were interviewed with a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Results: All the participants were male, and their age ranged from 19-60 years with the mean age of 32.3 years. 71.3% of participants had work-related health complains, among which arc eye (85.76%) was the most common. Among them, 87.1% had at least used one PPE. There was a significant association between awareness about occupational hazards and work experience of fabrication workers (p=0.001), and the practice of PPE with religion (p<0.01). Conclusions: This study found that fabrication workers were aware of occupational hazards and the use of PPE during the fabrication work. But the practice of PPE was not enough to protect them from the occupational hazards.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402199458
Author(s):  
Funmilayo Juliana Afolabi ◽  
Paul de Beer ◽  
Joke A. Haafkens

Informal workers in developing countries are exposed to various occupational hazards that may cause accidents, injuries, or diseases. Personal protective equipment (PPE) can be an essential tool for preventing workers from exposure to these hazards. Despite the widely acknowledged benefits of PPE usage, many informal automobile artisans in Nigeria do not use PPE. This study examines factors that predict PPE usage among these artisans, particularly their occupational risk perception. This cross-sectional study adopted a multistage method to select 632 automobile artisans (mechanics, panel beaters, painters, and vulcanizers) in Osun State, Nigeria. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on the dependent variable (the use of PPE) and the independent variables (occupational risk perception and risk tolerance). STATA 14 was used for the multivariate logistic regression analysis. Workers who perceive themselves at high risk of occupational health problems are more likely to use PPE (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1, p = .03), as are those who are very worried about getting accidents/illnesses (OR = 2.6, p = .03) or believe that these health problems are preventable (OR = 2.3, p = .01). Contrary to expectation, workers who experienced accidents/illnesses in the past are less likely to use PPE (OR = 0.3, p = .00) than those who did not. The established positive relationship between occupational risk perception and PPEs’ usage provides information to various stakeholders for designing safety programs that can reduce exposure to the occupational risks for informal automobile artisans in Nigeria.


AAOHN Journal ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Juve' Meeker ◽  
Ann Carruth ◽  
Catherine B. Holland

Currently, an increasing number of farms are family owned and women are directly involved in the farming operations as an independent manager or partner. Women play an important role in farm management by marketing farm products, purchasing materials, and financial planning. Because of this involvement, women can be exposed to potential health hazards that can result in chronic illness, debilitation, or death. This study explored and described health hazards affecting farm women in southeast Louisiana, preventive measures used by farm women, and their consistency in using protective equipment with varying levels of time commitment toward farm operations. This cross sectional study included women older than 18 whose family participated in farming operations. A stratified, random sample design with parishes comprising the strata and simple random selection without replacement within each stratum was used to select family addresses. A total of 519 women who met the criteria completed a structured 30 minute telephone interview conducted using The Louisiana Farm Health and Injury Survey instrument. Information elicited included farm work characteristics, prevention practices, and demographics. Results showed that women working 1 to 20 hours per week were less likely to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) than women working more than 20 hours per week. This included wearing seat belts on tractors; using hearing, eye, or breathing protection; and wearing gloves or boots. No differences were found between groups for use of skin protection, hair holders, or helmets on all terrain vehicles (ATVs). The researchers concluded that if nursing interventions such as teaching and counseling related to prevention methods could be provided, the incidence of acute and chronic illnesses and traumatic injury would decline.


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