Knowledge of Occupational Hazards and Practice of Occupational Health and Safety among Mortuary Workers in Health Facilities in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Mortuary workers are exposed to several health hazards in the course of carrying out their duties. Adequate knowledge about these hazards and routinely engaging in safety practices is crucial to reducing the prevalence of occupational injuries and diseases. This study was carried out to determine the knowledge of workplace hazards and safety practices among mortuary workers in Kaduna Metropolis.
Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The total population of mortuary workers in Kaduna metropolis (102) participated in the study. Data was collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire and analysed with IBM SPSS Statistics version 25. Results were presented using tables. Chi-square test of proportion was used to test for association between variables. The level of statistical significance was set at p-value of <0.05.
Results: Thirty-five (34.3%) of respondents were aged between 30 to 34 years; 73(71.6%) were male and 69(67.6%) had secondary level education. Eighty (78.4%) respondents had good knowledge of occupational hazards. Seventy one (69.6%) of the respondents had good occupational health and safety practices. There was a statistically significant relationship between the practice of occupational health and safety and respondents’ age (p=0.039), educational level (p=0.021) and knowledge grade (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: The findings from this study show that majority of the respondents had good knowledge, however, about a third of them had an aggregated practice score of less than 50% largely due to non-availability of necessary safety equipment. It is essential that the management in health facilities ensure sustainable provision of personal protective equipment.