Knowledge and Practice of Cement Factory Workers in Relation to Respiratory Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Sadeel A. Shanshal, Harith Kh. Al-Qazaz*

Background: Workers in cement industry are at high risk due to the dust that is emitted at various steps of cement production. This study aims to assess the respiratory symptoms, knowledge of the workers about cement hazards and the appropriate protective behaviors to minimize or prevent these health hazards. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was applied in 4 cement factories in Nineveh province / Iraq, between December 2019 and March 2020. Only non-smoker workers were included and a total of 105 male workers were initially interviewed. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information about workers’ knowledge and practices in relation to cement hazards, in addition to the data regarding different respiratory symptoms of the workers. Results: The final sample consisted from 97 workers with a mean age of 39.46 ± 9.51 and the average employment duration was 15.4 ± 7.38. Cronbach’s alpha value for knowledge scale and practice were 0.714 and 0.776 respectively. The means knowledge and practice scores were 10.77 ± 2.07 and 3.94 ± 1.34 respectively with a significant correlation between the two scores (r=0.488, p ?0.001). The prevalence of chronic cough, chronic sputum production and work-related shortness of breath were 39.2%, 28.8% and 60.8% respectively. The means of total knowledge and total practice scores were generally higher in workers without symptoms compared to workers suffering from these respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: This study revealed an acceptable level of knowledge and positive practices among the study sample from four cement factories who are participated in the survey. Higher knowledge score was directly correlate with better practice of the workers during the working hours and improving workers’ knowledge might enhance the protective behavior of the factory workers.