| Amhagebriel D. Marew (agdafro@yahoo.com) |
| Department of Publich health, Haramaya University, Ethiopia |
| July, 2015 |
Abstract |
Background: Solid waste management has emerged as an important public and environmental health issue. Municipal solid waste workers (MSWWs) are potentially exposed to a variety of occupational hazards and safety risks. Besides, the occupational problems and health risks on waste collectors were not well identified and studied. Currently, there are 73 Micro- and Small enterprises engaged in solid waste collection services, operating in Yeka sub-city for the house-to-house collection of municipal wastes with 734 workers. The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and associated factors of occupational injuries in Yeka sub-city. Methods: The method implied in the study was cross-sectional study design using cluster sampling technique through taking sampling frame from the sub-city and constituting at least five enterprises randomly selected from all wards in the sub-city consisting sixty three (63) Micro- and Small Enterprises with 635 workers recruited for the study. Throughout the study a pre-tested structured questionnaire and observation checklist was used to gather information and frequencies for descriptive statistics were used to describe data and OR with 95% CI was computed to see the presence of association between selected independent variables and occupational injury. Results: This study showed overall prevalence of occupational injury among solid waste collectors to be 38% (95% CI; 34.3% - 41.9%) in the last 12 months. Constituting significant negative predictors were smoking habit (AOR= 2.30, 95%CI; 1.19, 4.44), sleeping disorder (AOR=2.27, 95% CI; 1.20, 4.29) and job dissatisfaction (AOR=1.94, 95%CI; 1.35, 2.80). Poor personal hygiene practice and inadequate protective and safety measures were also observed in the area. Therefore, occupational injuries were common in the area and factors contributing for the occurrence were preventable and modifiable behavioural factors like smoking habit, sleeping disorder and job dissatisfaction. Conclusions: In a waste collection system dominated by inadequate PPE and unsafe handling and disposal of wastes, health education and different motivational activities for enterprises appeared to play a significant contribution in preventing occupational injuries of waste collectors. |
