AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EYE DEVICES AND EYE HEALTH HAZARDS AMONG WELDERS IN QUETTA
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Keywords
Awareness, Ocular Health, Reported Complaint, Utilization, Welders
Abstract
Objective: To assess the awareness and utilization of personal protective eye devices and eye health hazards among Welders of Quetta.
Study design: Descriptive cross sectional study design was used.
Place and duration of study: Study was carried out at Quetta city among welders from March to July 2022
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at welding sites from unorganized sector situated in Quetta. 129 welders of age group 14-50 years were selected through probability simple random sampling following informed consent. The welders were interviewed. Data was collected, entered and analysed on SPSS version-24.
Results: All of the respondents were male with a mean age of 32 years. My finds showed that 84% welders doesn’t had any training of welding. Approximately 57 (44.2%) of the 129 participants had completed primary level education, and 49 (38%) never attended an education system. the most common complaint of the respondents reported having a foreign body in their eye i.e. 58.9% complaint it to be occasionally and 6.20% said frequently. Other common concerns reported by respondents were arc eye injury, which was reported by 71.2% of welders. Most of the welders were well aware of occupational health hazard except hazard of photophobia (87.59%)
Conclusion: The health of welders in Pakistan is significantly impacted by a lack of safety measures. The risk of acquiring life-threatening conditions might be reduced by taking easy precautions such as wearing eye protection, heat- and particle-resistant clothing, face masks, and administering fast first aid. My research indicates that welders had limited understanding of occupational health risks and frequently complained about them, thus it is advised to take preventive measures. The study emphasises the necessity for welders to receive education, training, and encouragement in order to cover this gap.
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Wahid Bakhsh
Armed Forces Postgraduate Medical Institute, CMH Rawalpindi.
Farrah Pervaiz
Armed Forces Postgraduate Medical Institute, CMH Rawalpindi.
Humaira Mahmood
Armed Forces Postgraduate Medical Institute, CMH Rawalpindi.
Hafsa Khalil
Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology Rawalpindi.
Zafar Wahid Bakhsh
Bolan University of Medical & Health Sciences, Quetta.
Muhammad Farrukh Habib
BDS, RDS, MCPS, MSPH, National University of Medical Sciences, Islamabad Pakistan