Assessment of personal equipment utilization and associated factors among building construction workers in the lideta housing project, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
Creators: name: Shanko, Michael
Publisher: name: National Academic Digital Repository of Ethiopia
Year: 2019

description: Background: The Construction world is regarded as one of the most dangerous sectors worldwide. It employs unskilled labor force with highly complex work done within a confined area, leading to a multitude of safety hazards. Building construction accidents are on the rise and can create several adverse consequences. Statistics on construction occupation injuries and ailments show it as one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Personal Protective Equipments can prevent the various types of injuries that are likely to happen in construction work environment. This study is aimed at assessing personal protective equipment utilization and associated factors among Construction at the Lideta Housing Project located in Addis Ababa. Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted among a total of 289 Workers employed in the Lideta Housing Project, Addis Ababa. Simple Random Sampling technique using Lottery Method on the Payroll lists was used to select participants from the Project's sites. Data was collected by using structured and pretested questionnaire then, data entry and cleaning was done using EPI-Info v7 and analyzed using SPSS software version 20 where Descriptive statistics like mean, frequency and Percent was performed for most variables then analysis using Binary Logistic Regression Model was performed. Variables with 95% confidence intervals and P value at &lt;0.05 during the Bivariable Analysis were included in the Multivariable Logistic Regression Analysis to control for Confounders. Result: A total of 289 workers participated in the study, PPE utilization was found to be 53 (18.3%). 222 (76.8%) were Male workers. 201 (69.6%) know about PPEs. 79 (39.3%) of them knew about Helmets, safety boots and the Overall Garments only. 263 (91%) responded there were no PPEs on their Sites. Workers main reason for not using PPEs was largely due to unavailability in the site 182 (86.3%). The study found terms of employment in construction site (AOR [95%] = 2.093 [1.280, 4.272]), where permanent employees were 2.093 times more likely to utilize PPEs and Prior experience of any construction related injury (AOR [95%] = 2.614 [1.300, 5.257]) as well as Workers with Prior Safety Trainings with (AOR [95%] = 2.676 [1.509, 5.512]) were found to be significantly associated with PPE Utilization. Conclusion and Recommendation: The final report of this study indicated a very low utilization rate of Personal Protective Equipments among construction workers in contrast with other studies. The workers terms of employment variable- was found to be a key factor in determining PPE Utilization as such permanently employed workers had higher odds of utilizing protective equipments. The Report reiterated a significant Association between PPE Utilization and Previous Experience of Occupational injuries. The construction workers with injury experience were Utilizing PPE's while those with no experience didn't utilize Appropriate PPE's. It is recommended AAHDB and MOLSA should integrate and set a much needed safety regulation with a method to systematically enforce them on the Construction Industry.