Perception of printing workers regarding occupational health hazards and safety measures

Abstract

Background and objective: Printing workers are frequently exposed to many forms of occupational hazards while doing their jobs. Little research was done in Egypt about printings occupational hazards, which constitute a huge burden on the affected workers and employment settings. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the perception of occupational hazards and safety measures among printing workers.Methods: Descriptive analytic design was carried out the current study at the Egyptian Book House Press in Cairo on a purposive sample of 200 workers using a structured questionnaire to collect data, which include demographic data, occupational hazards, predisposing factors and safety measures as perceived by workers.Results: The results revealed that the majority of workers exposed to moderate level of occupational health hazards and safety measures. The most hazards the printing workers are exposed to it, are health, chemical, injury and psychological hazards. Also, there is a highly statistically significant negative correlation with total occupational hazards and safety measures.Conclusions: The study can be concluded that the workers exposed to moderate occupational hazards. As well, the majority of workers stated that there is a moderate level of safety measures to occupational hazards in their workplace. Therefore, this study recommended that continuous training of the printing workers on safety guidelines and enforcement of standard safety practices to decrease the potential occupational hazards.