Occupational Health Hazards, Safety Knowledge and Contributing Factors Among Petrol Pump Attendants in Mwanza City, Northwestern Tanzania. - Mwanza, Tanzania | Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences [CUHAS-Bugando] | 2024. - 118 Pages Includes References



Abstract:

Background: The safety of petrol pump attendants is a critical concern globally, with various factors influencing their knowledge of safety practices. Petrol pump attendants face a variety of occupational health hazards, including exposure to flammable liquids, toxic fumes, and musculoskeletal strain.

Objective: This study aimed to assess occupational health hazards (namely VOC, noise, and PM2.5), safety knowledge, and contributing factors among petrol pump attendants in Mwanza City, Northwestern Tanzania.
Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study. A total of 150 participants were analyzed. Data analysis was performed using Stata version 14. Modified poison regression was used to determine the association between exposures and outcomes of interest among study participants.

Results: More than half (67.3%) of the participants were aged between 25-34 years. Their Median age was 27(IQR: 25-30) years. About 53.3% of the participants had knowledge on occupational safety practices and 42.7% of the participants reported experiencing noise effects. Participants with at least secondary education had a 70% higher chance of Knowledge of safety practices (aPR= 1.70, 95%CI=1.06-2.69) as compared to their reference group with primary education; participants with working duration of greater than 5 years had a 41% higher chance of Knowledge on safety practices (aPR=1.41, 95%CI=1.35-1.91) as compared to their controls. Participants with occupation health risk had a 45% higher chance of noise effects (aPR=1.45, 95%CI=1.01-1.97) as compared to their controls; participants with excessive working hours had 83% higher chance of noise effects (aPR= 1.83, 95%CI=1.56-4.24) as compared to their counterparts with normal working hours. Participants with breathing problems in last six months had 42% higher chance of noises effects (aPR= 1.42, 95%CI=1.21-1.87) as compared to their counterparts. Participants with Skin rashes, eye irritation and chest pain had two times higher chance of noise effects (aPR= 2.04, 95%CI=1.66-4.64) as compared to their control.

Conclusion: The knowledge on occupational safety practices is still poor among participants. The rates of reported occupational health hazards are still high in the studied population. This calls for need to design targeted interventions to increase the knowledge on occupational safety practices among participants and hence reduce the risk of occupational health problems in Mwanza city.



Publisher. No.: Wurzburg Road 35, Premises, Post Code: 33102 | P. O. Box 1464 Mwanza, Tanzania | Phone: (255) 28-298-3384 | Fax: (255) 28-298-3386 | Email: vc@bugando.ac.tz | Website: www.bugando.ac.tz

Subjects--Personal Names: -- Environmental and Occupational Health--Geography & Earth Sciences