Impact of occupational health hazards prevention messages on perceptions among rural clients in India: The outcomes of a panel study

Abstract

Background: Clients engaged in various occupations in rural areas of India, especially from Uttar Pradesh, lack information regarding health hazards associated with their occupations. Therefore, the impact of prevention strategies on perceptions of clients regarding occupational health hazards (OHDs) carries its importance. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional cum panel study was done for 6 months duration (from July 1, 2016, to December 31, 2016) on 389 clients (above 20 years) engaged in any kind of occupations, in a randomly selected Village, Makhiyali (under Rural Health Training Centre [RHTC] catchment area) of a Medical College in district Muzaffarnagar. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and results were analyzed by appropriate statistical software's such as Epi Info and Atlas.ti. Results: The prevalence of overall OHDs was 65.2%; being dominated by respiratory disorders (47.3%). The adults' perceptions in comparison to elderly were significantly better in respiratory disorders category (P < 0.05). In the first 3 months of cross-sectional study on clients, their understanding of occupational health (OH) messages was statistically significantly associated with both the types of occupation and literacy status of clients (P < 0.0001 each). Next half of 3 months of panel study revealed that, after having received health messages for their OHDs from RHTC or Primary Health Centre (PHC) staff, adults were statistically significantly (P < 0.0001) better able to appreciate the OHD prevention messages as compared to elderly. Conclusion: Rural clients' perceptions need regular improvement by occupational health education sessions for augmenting their understanding of OHDS. However, further more studies on this issue are required, so as to give a more clarified picture on this area.