Correlation between noise-related risk perception, knowledge and the use of hearing protection device: A case study among landfill workers

Abstract

Noise is unwanted sound that are unpleasant or loud to human's hearing. Risk perception can be known as the predictor towards the safety behavior of an individual. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship of risk perception, knowledge about noise and hearing protection device (HPD) use. A cross-sectional study was used in this study to determine the noise risk perception, knowledge about noise and the use of personal hearing protection. Thirty-one workers who work at the landfill, exposed to noise and provided with hearing protection devices from the management were participated in this study. The result shows that there is significant positive correlation between knowledge about noise and HPD use (r=0.508, p=0.004). Moreover, there is also a significant positive correlation between knowledge about HPD and HPD use (r=0.449, p=0.011) among landfill operation workers. However, there is no significant correlation between risk perception and HPD use (r=0.329, p=0.070). The finding from this study can provide a preliminary data in further continues this research on predicting the variable on the HPD use among landfill workers. Besides, the outcome of this study could assist policy recommendation for waste management service company in improving training programs and knowledges among employees.