Department of Environmental Health and Sanitation Education

Occupational health and safety practices among small scale mining workers in Ghana; a case study of Wassa Amenfi (West, East And Central) Municipals

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Occupational health and safety practices among small scale mining workers in Ghana; a case study of Wassa Amenfi (West, East And Central) Municipals Sabastian, S. K. Small-scale mining is perceived as a benchmark for poverty reduction in developing countries. It contributes immensely to national income for countries with minerals reserves and mining activities. Despite the contribution of small-scale mining to Ghana, the industry pays little attention to health and safety practices among miners. This study investigated occupational health and safety practices among small-scale miners using a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. A total of 295 participants were selected from small-scale mining firms in the Wassa Amenfi (West, East, and Central) Districts, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Minerals Commission. Data were gathered from the study participants using structured questionnaires and interview guides whereas levels of heavy metals (mercury and arsenic) concentrations in water and water sediments, were determined by laboratory analysis. Results of the study revealed that 78.98% (233) of the respondents were aware of available regulations regarding workers’ safety. Safety measures adopted by the various mining companies were; safety training (35.00%), the use of PPE (33.00%), regular monitoring (28.00%), and prompt reporting of incidents (4.00%). Miners were exposed to various types of hazards and injuries sustained among miners included cuts, fractures, sprain, broken arms, and entrapment. The commonly used PPE was safety boots (37.00%) whilst the overall coat was the least (8.00%) used among miners. The use of technology was identified as the main factor affecting the implementation of health and safety practices. The mercury in water sediments and water was above the WHO Maximum Permissible Limit (MPL) whereas values of arsenic were below the WHO MPL. The study concluded that occupational health and safety were a priority in the small-scale mining companies within the study area. A thesis in the Department of Public Health Education, Faculty of Environment and Health Education submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Environmental and Occupational Health Education) University of Education, Winneba AUGUST, 2022

Operational hazards of the national ambulance service in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions of Ghana

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Operational hazards of the national ambulance service in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions of Ghana Amoako, P. A. Pre-hospital emergency care has had rapid progress in Ghana in terms of technology, treatments, staff strength, and fleet management. In Ghana, there is at least one Ambulance with trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to man a station in every constituency. The risk of occupational death is disproportionately high for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel, largely because of the high incidence of transportation-related fatalities. A systematic review of the literature showed evidence that EMTs are susceptible to higher rates of injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, poor sleep, and a high rate of fatigue because of general and Ambulance-specific stressors. The aim of the research was to evaluate the operational hazards and risks associated with the National Ambulance Service. A total of 29 Ambulance Service Stations and 250 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) were sampled. The primary data for the study were collected from the respondents through questionnaire administration and interviews. The mean age in the study was 27.8±8.21 years. Out of the 250 respondents, 92.4% were aware of the operational hazards associated with their work, 84.7% had experienced biological hazards with 73.7% cuts and wounds constituting the main biological hazards. Sixty-two percent of responders had been injured during operations with back pain being the most identified injury to EMTs. Regular inspection, preventive maintenance of equipment and the ambulance was proposed by EMTs as one of the measures to control hazards. The study showed that the majority of EMTs had knowledge and have experienced exposure to operational hazards. EMTs with diploma educational level were 102.70 times more likely not to experience biological hazards as compared to those with BECE or no formal education (AOR=102.7 (CI: 1.97 - 5335.1), P=0.022). The study concludes that EMTs experience several hazards at their workplace with blood being the most biological substance they are exposed to. A thesis submitted to the Department of Public Health Education, University of Education Winneba, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy in Environmental and Occupational Health Education AUGUST, 2022

Occupational hazards exposure and risk perception among emergency medical technicians of the national ambulance service in Ghana

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Occupational hazards exposure and risk perception among emergency medical technicians of the national ambulance service in Ghana Doku, J. A. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are the healthcare providers mandated to provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for patients with critical medical conditions outside a medical facility. This study assessed occupational hazards among EMTs of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) in Ghana. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among EMTs to assess occupational hazards related to their work. The study used a multistage sampling technique; the country was clustered into Northern, Middle, and Southern; 7 regions (Ashanti, Greater Accra, Northern, Bono, Western, Oti, and Eastern regions) were purposively selected with all the service stations in these regions. A total of 59 NAS stations and 413 EMTs were recruited from February to November 2020. Participants self-administered a structured questionnaire based on different variables including their socio-demographic characteristics, occupational health, and injuries, health risk perception and knowledge in transporting Covid-19 cases. The data tool linked to a Google form was subsequently deployed unto the various WhatsApp platforms of the various NAS stations to download and self-administer and return same via entropic means for cloud storage. Out of the 400 respondents, 76.8% acknowledged occupational health hazards at work, 65.3% knew occupational hazards and 51% stated debriefing as their main coping strategy. Also, 71.2% and 77.75% of EMTs had good knowledge and attitude towards occupational health risks respectively. Meanwhile, 51.0% of EMTs had ever suffered injuries during work of which 83.2% indicated their health/body was affected and most 82.5% were diagnosed with back pain. Most 84.5% EMTs had training on transporting Covid-19 cases of which 77.0% had good knowledge in transporting Covid-19 cases. The study also showed a significant association between sex, marital status, religion, level of practice and educational level on knowledge of occupational risk (χ2=14.47, p<0.001), (χ2=33.86, p<0.001), (χ2=18.40, p<0.001), (χ2=12.83, p<0.001) and (χ2=41.65, p<0.001) respectively. The study thus concluded that most EMTs were aware of occupational health hazards issues in their work environment, and more than half had suffered from a form of occupational health hazard, mostly cuts and wounds, and stress. A thesis submitted to the Department of Public Health Education, University of Education, Winneba, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy in Environmental and Occupational Health Education AUGUST, 2022

Medical waste management in health facilities in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Medical waste management in health facilities in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana Nsowaa, G. There is a growing concern on how medical wastes are handled in developing countries like Ghana due to their potential source of risks to human health and the environment. A descriptive cross - sectional study was used to assess the current management practices of medical waste at six health facilities in the Kumasi Metropolis. Checklist, observation and questionnaire were used to collect data from the health facilities and 400 healthcare workers. The data was analyzed using the SPSS, version 25. Chi-Square test was used to determine the association between the variables and level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. The results of the study showed that temporary storage holding time for the medical waste was between 12-24hrs and manually transferred to treatment sites in all facilities, except KATH, which used tricycle. Incineration was mostly (66.7 %) used to managed solid medical waste with uncontrolled smokes which could pose threat to the environment. Liquid wastes from some wards were drained into septic tanks while others into the municipal sewage system. Most (74.4 %) healthcare workers had adequate knowledge on medical waste management, although segregation at the point of generation was nearly absent, this was significantly associated with age, profession and years of experience (P-values 0.000; 0.032). There was policy gap on enforcement of medical waste management at the health facilities. The medical waste posed a serious health risk to the health workers, waste collectors and the people in the surrounding communities. Generally, the medical waste management was below the required WHO guidelines. The study recommends sufficient training, effective supervision and resource allocation for waste management. A Thesis in the Department of Public Health Education, Faculty of Environment and Health Education, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy in Environmental and Occupational Health Education in the University of Education, Winneba JULY, 2022