Assessment of Workplace Hazard Awareness, Work-related Health Complaints and Safety Measures among Welders in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Welding processes are known to expose welders to occupational health hazards. Awareness gap regarding these hazards and their control is a major factor contributing to high rate of occupational illnesses and injuries among welders. This research is aimed at assessing awareness of workplace hazards, work-related health complaints and safety measures among welders in Benin City.
 Methods: Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire from 441 welders recruited by a multistage sampling technique in a descriptive cross-sectional study design. IBM SPSS 25 was used for data entry and analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were done with p-values of 0.05 considered statistically significant
 Results: High proportions 402 (91.2%) and 435 (98.6%) of the welders had good awareness for their workplace hazards and PPEs respectively, while all 441 (100%) of them were exposed to noise levels > 85 decibels. Itchy eyes, 365 (82.8%), was the most prevalent work-related health complaint. Safety goggles 430 (97.5%) and helmet 11 (2.5%) were the most and least utilized PPE respectively. Overall, a high proportion 349 (79.1%) of the welders had poor usage of PPEs. Educational level was statistically associated with awareness of PPEs (p = 0.02).
 Conclusions: There was a high degree of awareness of workplace hazards, PPEs and of some workrelated health complaints but poor usage of PPEs among the welders. The National Institute of Welding should implement focused educational interventions to increase understanding of occupational health and the proper use of PPE to mitigate the health risks connected with this profession.