Occupational Hazards and Self-Reported Health Problems among Photocopy and Printing Workers at Assiut University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Photocopy and printing workers have a great chance of exposure to polluting materials and various hazardous substances that are harmful to human health. Objective: This study aims to assess occupational hazards and self-reported health problems among photocopy and printing workers. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 163 workers at central printing press, including printing and photocopies offices of faculties, Assiut University. Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered through face-to-face interviews by the researcher. All respondents were interviewed during the period from first of February to the first of July 2022. It comprised four main parts Part One: Demographic and occupational data. Part Two: Self-Reported health problems of study participants. Part Three: Workplace environment at photocopy and printing offices. Part four: Studied workers' knowledge about occupational hazards and their knowledge about health risks associated with each hazard. Results: The study revealed that 89.0% of studied workers were male, 39.9% of them were aged from 40-50 years. Alongside, 89.6% of studied workers had poor knowledge about occupational hazards and health risks of each hazards. The most frequent muscle-skeletal problem among studied workers was back pain 36.2%. Approximately 9.8% complained from vomiting. Regarding respiratory problems, shortness of breathing was reported by 25.8% of the participants. About 10.4% of studied workers suffered from visual impairment. Also, 22.7% of participants complained from skin irritation. Conclusion: The study concluded that poor knowledge about occupational hazards, so they at higher risk for different work-related health problems.