Abstract:

Background: Mortuary workers’ exposure to hazards is a serious public health issue, as consequences of these work-related risks do not only affect individuals who are directly at the receiving end, but also the impact ripples through their families, with potential emotional and financial burdens, and extends to employers who may face increased healthcare costs and workforce management challenges. Therefore, this study examined the effect of educational intervention on knowledge and perception of personal protective equipment among workers in selected health facilities in South-West, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: Quasi-experimental research approach was employed for this study. A total of 10 mortuaries were selected in the two states out of the 46 facilities existing in Lagos and Osun by balloting. A sample size of 60 mortuary workers was using the Power formula. A random sampling technique was used to group the participants into an Experimental group Group (EG) and Control Group (CG). The intervention was implemented for 2 hours per day once a week for four weeks. Four workers were trained for 2 hours over a period of three days. A structured validated questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.79 was used to collect data. Data were collected at baseline, immediate post-intervention and 12th week follow-up. Response rate was 100% for both IG and CG. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at 5% level of significance. Effect size (ES) was computed to measure the magnitude of the intervention in IG. RESULTS: Findings showed that at baseline, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the mean scores of PPE knowledge for Experimental Group (3.52 ± 0.33) and Control Group (3.69 ± 0.38). It also revealed that at baseline, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the mean scores of PPE perception for experimental group (16.36 ± 0.73) and control group (16.15 ± 1.22). Furthermore, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the mean scores of PPE knowledge between baseline for EG (3.52 ± 0.33) and 12th week follow-up (9.93 ± 0.05), as there was a significant difference (p 0.05) in the knowledge and perception of PPE utilisation among mortuary workers in the control group and artisans in the experimental group at 12th follow-up, greatly due to the occupational-risk intervention program. CONCLUSION: The proper and sufficient use of PPE among mortuary workers is due to a variety of factors. This study affirmed that increase in knowledge and perception on usage of PPE among workers in selected health facilities are very crucial factors to be considered. The result of the analysis reveals that there were significant differences at 12th week follow-up between the control and experimental groups in all the variables measured. This result attests to effectiveness of the educational intervention program in improving the knowledge and perception of utilisation of PPE among mortuary workers in selected health facilities. This is evident in the statistical analysis which revealed that, there is a significant difference in the mean score of each of knowledge and perception from baseline period to immediate and follow-up stage based on the t-test.