Risk Management and Healthcare Policy (Feb 2024)
Compliance with Standard Occupational Health and Safety Measures and Associated Factors Among Small-Scale Metal Industry Workers in Central Ethiopia
Abstract
Abel Afework,1,2 Aiggan Tamene,3– 5 Abera Tafa2 1Center for Sustainable Development, Addis Abeba University, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia; 2Infection Prevention and Control department, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia; 3Centre for Sustainability, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; 4Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; 5Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Wachemo, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Abel Afework, Email [email protected]: Compliance with workplace health and safety measures can result in considerable reduction in workplace injuries and fatalities and attributed economic costs. However, majority of studies conducted in small-scale industries in numerous countries, including Ethiopia focused on the prevalence of occupational injuries and there is a paucity of evidence on level of employees’ adherence to safety measures and the associated factors. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess workers’ compliance and factors associated with occupational health and safety practices in small-scale metal industries in Central Ethiopia.Methods: This study was conducted in Central Ethiopia. A total of 415 small-scale metal workers were included in this study. Study participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The collected data were entered using EPI Info version 7.2 and exported to IBM-SPSS Version 22 for further cleaning and analysis. Bivariate and multivariate Binary Logistic Regression were conducted to determine association and during the multivariable regression variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered significantly associated factors.Results: The study found a 39.3% (95% CI: 34.7, 44.1) prevalence of good compliance with safety and health measures among small-scale metal workers. Temporary employed workers were less likely to adhere [AOR=0.43, 95% CI (0.21, 0.93)] and workers who received training were more likely to adhere [AOR=5.75, 95% CI (2.56, 12.9)] to safety precautions. Other significantly associated variables included work experience, working at night, and satisfaction with the current salary.Conclusion: This study sheds light on small-scale metal workers’ commitment to workplace safety and health procedures, indicating a compliance rate of 39.3%, which is low. Temporary employees and less experienced workers are less likely to follow health and safety precautions. Workplace health and safety training are associated with increased safety precautions.Keywords: safety compliance, health and safety, small-scale industries, metal workers, Ethiopia
