Assessment of Health Risks Associated with Waste Handling Among Sanitation Workers at Prampram

Abstract

Introduction Waste is produced from households, municipal sources, commercial and industrial organizations as well as construction and demolition. Waste can also be produced uncontrollably through agriculture, mines and quarries activities. Waste management involves lot of activities including sweeping. Aim and Methods To assess some aspects of the health risks associated with waste handling, a cross- sectional study was carried out at Prampram, a peri- urban community a district in the Greater Accra Region. 183 sanitation workers were enrolled for the study through the snow ball method. A focus group discussion and a structured questionnaire were used to interview sanitation workers after obtaining their informed consent. An observational checklist was used to observe their usage of personal protective equipment. Results Almost all the respondents (98.4%) believed that their physical contact with waste was a health risk and almost all of them (98.4) claim they cleaned themselves after work. The odds of getting higher health risk in those who use PPE before waste handling is reduced by 65% (95% CI 0.144, 0.85) as compared to those who do not use PPE before waste handling. Those who use PPE during waste handling are 9.59 (95% CI 2.214, 10.492) times less likely to have health risk as compared to those who do not use PPE during waste handling. Recommendations These findings suggest that the use of personal protective equipment and perceived health risk are associated with an increased risk of having a health outcome. This investigation may help reduce the health risk of sanitation workers by providing Personal Protective Equipment and education. It may also help in policy making concerning the Sanitation.