| dc.description.abstract | Introduction
Occupational safety is defined as the science of anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control
of hazards arising in or from the workplace that could impair the health and wellbeing of
workers, taking into account the possible impact on the surrounding communities and the general
environment.
Fishing is one of the occupations with substantial risks which include but not limited to:
drowning, assaults, skin infections among others. In Uganda, its responsibility of Ministry of
Gender, Labour and Social Development to administer and enforce the Occupational Safety and
Health Act, and improvement of working conditions and environment. Given interventions,
fishermen continue to be disproportionately affected by occupational related injuries. In
Lwampanga, the knowledge and practice regarding occupational safety is not documented. The
extent to which interventions to reduce hazards related to fishing is not known.
Objectives
The objective of the study was to determine occupational safety knowledge and practices among
fisher folks of Lwampanga, Nakasongola district in Uganda. Specific objectives were to
determine the level of occupational safety knowledge, among fisher folks at selected landing
sites in Lwampanga. To determine individual occupational safety practices among fisher folks
and also to explore perception of district, and community leaders towards occupational safety
among fisher folk in Lwampanga Sub County.
Methodology
This study was cross sectional, 6 landing sites were randomly selected 1 from at least each
parish.12 key informants were selected purposively from the respective departments and relevant
community structures. Data collection methods included an interviewer administered
questionnaire, and key informant interviews. Quantitative data was collected from 300
respondents, including different categories of populations involved in fishing activities.
Qualitative data was collected from 12 key informants, using thematic analysis of transcripts
from respondents. Quantitative data was analyzed using STATA. The results will be presented to
school of public health Makerere and a copy will be presented to the district fisheries officer,
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from whom other sub county fisheries staff can get information and assess the results. The results
will guide in health education and enforcement in regard to occupational measures.
Results
Slightly more than half of respondents 56.6% were knowledgeable about occupational health and
safety. 99.7% acknowledged that their kind of work exposes them to different hazards. More
than half 58.9% reported working in groups as a preventive measure to the hazards faced while
fishing. 91.3% knew PPE and could mention at least one, only 32.7% were consistently using
them. More than half 56.67% of respondents had poor practices in regard to occupational health
and safety of which of all the respondents only 16% could report occupational health and safety
incidences.
Conclusion
Despite the considerable knowledge on occupational health and safety among fishermen,
majority of the workers displayed poor safety practices thus poor PPE use, incidence reporting
etc. Therefore, there is need for continuous trainings and sensitization of fishermen workers on
occupational health and safety with emphasis on the advantages of using protective equipment,
order to improve their knowledge and consequently their practices. | en_US |
