Prevention of respiratory problems among traffic police: A cross sectional study in Kathmandu valley exploring knowledge and practice

Abstract

Background: Air pollution is high in Kathmandu valley due to heavy traffic and ongoing road constructions. The objective of the study was to identify the knowledge and practice regarding prevention of respiratory problems among traffic police. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Kathmandu valley. The areas have been selected on the basis of traffic pollution and participants were selected by random sampling technique. The sample size of study was 166. Data was collected by using self administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS. Results: Among the participants, more than half (53%) were from age group of 20-29 years and 40.4% were from age group of 30-39 years. Regarding the respiratory problems, more than four fifth (85.5%) responded difficulty in breathing as a type of respiratory problem. Similarly, 89.2% participant had not offered any protective device by the government and 71.5% had used protective devices during their duty hour. Majority (72.2%) of participants were only using mask as a protective device. Nearly one fourth (19.3%) had adequate knowledge and very few (4.8%) had adequate level of practice on preventing respiratory problems. Conclusion: It can be concluded that one fourth participant traffic polices had knowledge but very few were practicing the preventive measures for respiratory problems. It is recommended to conduct awareness campaign to the traffic police and advocate the government to provide the protective measures.

Keywords

• Knowledge
• practice
• prevention
• respiratory problems
• traffic police