Personal hygiene and sanitation practices among woodwork artisans in Imo State, Nigeria

Background: Artisans in wood industries especially in developing countries, are faced with challenges of prevention, control of health issues, and promotion of total well-being due to poor personal hygiene and sanitation practices at work.

Objective: To assess the personal hygiene and sanitation practices among woodwork artisans in Imo State, Nigeria.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out, to sample 216 participants consisting saw millers, wood carvers and carpenters. Multistage sampling technique was utilized for their selection, from 18 wood clusters in 9 L.G.As, proportionately drawn from the 27 L.G.As that make up the three senatorial zones of Imo State. A pre-tested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was employed to obtain data from respondents aged 20 years and above, who consented and met inclusion criteria from October 2022 to November 2023. Data obtained were captured with SPPS version 23, analyzed using descriptive statistics. Chi square test, t-test and logistic regression at 5% level of significance.

Results: Personal hygiene practices among respondents as presented in table 2, revealed that majority of them had separate accommodation (190; 88.0%). More than half of respondents (116; 53.%) do not brush their teeth daily, 51.4% bath sometimes, 40.3% bath every time, while 5.1% bath once in a while after work. As concern hand washing before eating, Majority of them (121; 56%) wash hands sometimes, 31.9% wash hands every time, 10.6% wash hands once in a while and 2.3% rarely wash their hands. More than half of the respondents (75.0%) wash hands with chemical substances after work, while 69.4% of them treat wounds with chemical substances. 

Availability of sanitation facilities among the respondents (table 3), showed absence of hand washing (0; 0.0%) and 9.3% of urinal facilities (20). Borehole was the commonest source of water supply (75.9%), while flush pour toilet was the common toilet type (76.4%) used among studied respondents. The functionality of the toilet facility was found to be 44.5%. Majority of the respondents (158; 73.1%) indicated that the toilets were cleaned from time to time. Of those that affirmed cleaning of the toilet, 35.4% reported daily cleaning, 7.6% reported weekly cleaning, 5.!% had no response, while more than half of them (51.9%) had no knowledge of how frequent the toilet cleaning was done. Refuse collection practices among respondents (table 4), showed that major means of collecting refuse at respondents’ shops was “any available container” (110; 50.9%). Trash bin bags were not found in the workshops of majority of the respondents (196; 90.7%). Substantial proportion of them collected their refuse fortnightly (30.6%), while incineration (46.3%) and open dumping (110; 50.9%) were the commonest methods of refuse disposal. 

Conclusion: Wood artisans in Imo State are vulnerable to poor health conditions which may impact their overall well-being, due to poor personal hygiene and sanitation practices at work. Sensitization through awareness creation and health education are needed for these workers.