Abstract

Introduction According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “occupational health deals with all aspects of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards. A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone under certain conditions at work. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO) occupational health service recommendation 112 of 1959, occupational health service (OHS) means a service established in or near a place of employment for the purpose of protecting the workers against any health hazard which may arise out of their work or the conditions in which it is carried on.
Objectives To assess occupational health hazards and services in small and medium scale manufacturing industries in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria.
Methodology A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out from March to August 2014 in 168 small and medium scale manufacturing industries in Anambra State. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Noise level, dust concentrations and psychosocial hazards were measured. It was a total population study.
Results A preponderance of male staff was found in both the small scale (77.6%) and medium scale (75.0%) industries. The male/female ratio was 3.5:1 in the small scale and 3:1 in the medium scale industries. The medical staffs constituted 7.4% of workers in the medium scale industries and 2.1% in the small scale industries. The medical staff in both categories of industries constituted only 3.9% of the total work force. The average noise level was higher in the medium scale industries (76.2) as compared to the small scaled industries (72.6).
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The average environmental dust concentration and psychosocial hazards were found to be higher in the small scale industries (2.3mg/m3 and 52.1%); as compared to the medium scale industries (1.1mg/m3 and 26.3%). The management’s awareness of occupational hazards was 100.0% in most of the categories of hazards in both industries. Most of the small and an average number of the medium scale industries used part time private healthcare practitioners 143 (89.4%) and 4 (50%) respectively. Two (25%) of the medium scale industries had their individual practice. None of the small or the medium scale industries were involved in group occupational health practice.
The percentage of health care workers with industrial training and those that visit the factory floor was 2.2% and 22.9% of the total. All the medium scale industries did pre-employment and periodic medical examinations, while 101 (63.1%) of the small scale industries did pre-employment medical examinations and only 3 (1.9%) did periodic medical examination. The only health service facility present in most of the small scale industries was first Aid box 81 (50.6%) that was mostly empty.
Conclusion It was observed that there was high potential for accidents and injuries in both the small and medium scale industries. Employers’ awareness of the different hazards in these industries was found to be high but with poor implementation of safety regulations and safety practices. The general standard of health and social welfare services was low in both the small and medium scale industries. In all, the medium scale industries provided better occupational health and welfare services to its workers than the small scale industries and it was still generally below the minimum recommended standard by the ILO. OHS should be established by the management of all small and medium scale industries in Nigeria. They should participate in group practices where they cannot establish their individual clinics.

A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS AND SERVICES IN MEDIUM AND SMALL SCALE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN ANAMBRA STATE, SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA