Kumie, Abera(PhD)Bogale, Daniel2018-07-102023-11-052018-07-102023-11-052012-01http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/7548Background: Municipal solid waste workers are highly exposed to health and environmental safety risks due to exposure to heavy workloads, bio-aerosols, volatile compounds, potentially hazardous or even infectious materials. In our country, like many developing countries, municipal solid waste is collected manually and collection of household waste is also a job which requires repeated heavy physical activities such as lifting, carrying, pulling, and pushing. Objective: To assess occupational injuries and illness symptoms and factors affecting injuries among solid waste collectors in Addis Ababa city. Methods: Cross-sectional study design was employed to assess occupational injuries and illness symptoms among household solid waste collectors. There were 280 household solid waste collector unions in five randomly selected sub-cities. A total of 876 workers from 92 unions which were proportionally allocated to each sub-city were participated in the study. A structured questionnaire based face to face interviews and observational check list for personal protective device status and utilization pattern were used to collect data. Results: The response rate of this study was 97.9% and female respondents were account 71.2%. The median age of the study subjects was 33 years (ranging from18 to 70 years). The overall occupational injury prevalence rate in the last 12 months was 383 (43.7%). None use of personal protective equipments while being on duty [AOR: 2.62, 95%CI: (1.48-4.63)] and as compared to those who had five and more children, odds of injuries for those who had 3-4 children was reduced by around half [AOR: 0.52, 95%CI: (0.30-0.93)]. The prevalence of dermal illness symptoms; itching and eczema among study participants were 27.7% and 33.6% respectively. In this study total of 311 (35.5%) participants reported that they had been troubled with musculoskeletal symptoms (joint and back pain) during the last 12 months. Conclusion: There are injuries and illness symptoms among this group of workers in a level that need immediate measure. So, implementation of basic occupational health and safety services like training on occupational health and safety with the provisions of personal protective devices and follow up of their appropriate utilization among this group of workers are highly advisable.enAssessment of occupational injuriesThesis