Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices concerning usage for personal protective equipment (PPE) among grinding mill workers in Buwuni town council, Bugiri district

Abstract

Background.Personal protective equipment (PPE) remains one of the effective intervation in preventing occupational hazards. However, there is limited evidence concerning the usage among grinding mills workers in Uganda. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning PPE usage among grinding mill workers in Buwuni town council, Bugiri district. Study objective. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning PPE usage and adherence as an OSH management measure among grinding mills workers to provide data to policymakers, political officials, innovators, researchers, and fellow students. Materials and methods.A mixed cross sectional study was conducted among 158 grinding mill workers, randomly selected from 20 grinding mills. Tables, summaries and frequencies were used to determine the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices among the grinding mill workers. Results. Of the 158 grinding mill workers, 99.37% were male. Common hazards included cuts 78 (55.71%), backaches 28 (20%) and hearing problems 19 (13.57%). 116(73.42%) were knowledgeable about PPE as a measure in occupational safety while 42(26.58%) had no knowledge. 71 (44.94%) strongly agreed that grinding mills were hazardous and 148(93.67%) agreed they needed PPE. 72.15% did not receive or have PPE and 75% did not consistently use the PPE. Qualitative findings show low knowledge on PPE, poor worker attitudes and low worker training on PPE. Conclusion.A reasonable number of workers were using PPE by the time of the study but it was not the appropriate types for example many used the COVID 19 masks instead of the respirators. The practices of workers should be mainly changed especially through provision of the PPE by the grinding mill supervision and continuous education of the workers. This can be properly borrowed from the COVID 19 pandemic where the public was influenced to use the masks through providing them and the continuous education