Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices towards occupational hazards and safety among soil brick makers in Rwanyahembe Sub- County, Mbarara District

Abstract

Objective: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a primordial aim of assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices among soil brick makers towards occupational hazards and safety in Rwanyamahembe sub-county, Mbarara district. Methods: A total sample size of 102 respondents was randomly selected from various brick kilns establishment from four villages. Data was collected by interviewing the brick makers through dispensing semi-structured questionnaires. The results were statistically analyzed using softwares such as STATA and Ms excel. This majorly involved the frequencies and percentages. Findings: The results showed that all the respondent were male and the majority of the brick makers (49/102) 48.04% were between 25-30 years. The brick makers were aware about the occupational hazards and safety (49/72) 68.06%, and reported the following: general body (14/69) and musculoskeletal disorders and the main hazards 38.77%. The majority (30/102) 29.42% strongly agreed that use of PPE was beneficial. 72/102 (70.59%) of the respondents did not use PPE. Conclusion: The majority were knowledgeable about occupational hazards and safety yet their practices were controversial to the occupational safety.