Browsing by Author "Gezu, Meaza (MPH, PhD Fellow)"

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    Prevalence of occupational asthma and associated factors among tannery workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa Universty, 2018-08) Merga, Fetene; Gezu, Meaza (MPH, PhD Fellow)
    Background: Out of 334 million global prevalence of asthma, around 15% is attributable to occupational asthma. According to the 2014 WHO report, the disease affects about 5% of the global population, mainly in low and middle-income countries. Tannery workers perform many operations with different exposures to varieties of chemicals, which are harmful for their health through causing occupational diseases including asthma. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of occupational asthma and associated factors among tannery industries workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2017/18. Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted on the study participants of 348 tannery workers, which were selected by systematic random sampling in Addis Ababa from February to April 2018. Data collection performed by trained data collectors using pre-tested questionnaires and by work place observation. The collected data was analyzed by using IBM SPSS version 24. Descriptive statistics was done for all variables in the study and displayed as frequency, percentages, means and standard deviations. A bivariate and multivariate analysis was used to identify associated factors of occupational asthma with 95% CI and level of significant association (p-value of 0.05). Result: A total of 348 (97.8%) respondents were included in the study. Out of these, occupational asthma prevalence was 35.3% (n=123). Out of the total respondents, 57.8% were males and 56.3% ages were less than 35 years and their mean age were 34.53 years. Only 17% of respondents had trained on PPE use. The odds of illiterate respondents were 2 times more likely to be asthmatic (AOR = 2.021; 95% CI: 0.645, 6.328) than respondents of educational level > grade 12. A work experience of > 20 years had 2 times more likely to be asthmatic than respondents of 1-5 experiences in years (AOR = 1.981; 95% CI: 1.008, 3.892). Conclusion and Recommendation: The overall prevalence rate of occupational asthma in tanneries of Addis Ababa was 353 per 1000 exposed workers. MOLSA, AAU, MOH, and Ministry of Industry should give attention and enforce an integrated emphasis to establish and properly apply an active and functional health and safety programs through strengthen strict supervision of workplace and working conditions.