Occupational injury prevalence and predictors among small-scale sawmill workers in the Sokoban Wood Village, Kumasi, Ghana.

Autor: Opoku FA; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Opoku DA; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.; Allen Clinic, Family Healthcare Services, Kumasi, Ghana., Ayisi-Boateng NK; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.; University Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Osarfo J; Department of Community Health, School of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Health Science, Ho, Ghana., Sulemana A; Department of Environmental Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Agyemang S; University Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Amponsah OKO; Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Asiedu MT; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Gyebi R; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Agyei-Baffour P; Department of Health Policy, Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Apr 10; Vol. 19 (4), pp. e0298954. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 10 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298954
Abstrakt: Background: Sawmill workers are at increased risk of occupational injuries due to their exposure to workplace hazards. However, little is known about the burden of occupational injuries among them in Ghana. Understanding its prevalence and associated factors is necessary to design appropriate interventions to improve workers' health and safety. This study sought to determine the prevalence and factors associated with occupational injuries among small-scale sawmill workers at Sokoban Wood Village, Kumasi.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 138 small-scale sawmill workers from December 2020 to January 2021. Data was collected on demographic and work-related characteristics including age, sex, personal protective equipment (PPE), workspace design, and lighting. The primary outcome was the prevalence of occupational injuries in the 12 months preceding the survey. Logistic regression method was used to assess for independent predictors of occupational injuries, and associations were deemed statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Results: Approximately 66.7% of the workers experienced occupational injuries within the 12 months preceding the study. Cuts (69.6%) were the most commonly reported injuries. Injuries were mainly caused by machine parts/sharp objects (47.8%) and being hit by logs/objects (46.8%). Only 40.7% of the workers reported always using PPE while legs (38.0%) and hands (37.0%) were the most common body parts injured. The worker's monthly income, poor workspace design and poor lighting had increased odds of occupational injuries while an increase in age was associated with a 5% decreased odds of occupational injuries.
Conclusion: The prevalence of occupational injuries among the sawmill workers at the Sokoban Wood Village was high, and this calls for prioritization of health and safety at the workplace. Essential measures required include improvements in the safety of machine tools, workspace design and lighting.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Opoku et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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