Utilization of Personal Protective Equipment in Preventing Occupational Outcomes among Artisanal Workers in Enugu Metropolis, Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE) in preventing occupational outcomes among artisanal workers in Enugu metropolis, Enugu State, Nigeria. Two research questions were answered and two null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The population comprised 1,250 registered artisanal workers in Enugu metropolis drawn from the National Directorate of Employment (2023) database. The sample size was 303 artisanal workers, determined using Taro Yamane's formula at a 5% margin of error, and participants were drawn using a multi-stage sampling procedure combining cluster identification and proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected with a researcher-developed instrument titled Personal Protective Equipment Utilization Questionnaire (PPEUQ), a 5-point Likert-scaled instrument structured into three sections and face-validated by three experts in the Department of Public Health, Madonna University Nigeria, Elele. A pilot test on 30 artisanal workers outside the study area yielded Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.84 for Section B (extent of PPE utilization) and 0.79 for Section C (types of PPE utilized), with an overall coefficient of 0.82. Of the 303 copies distributed, 287 were properly completed and retrieved, representing a 94.7% return rate. Frequencies and percentages described the demographic variables, mean and standard deviation answered the research questions, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tested the null hypotheses, with item-level ANOVA applied to the seven individual PPE types. Findings revealed that artisanal workers utilized PPE to a moderate extent (grand mean = 3.36, SD = 1.03), concentrated on safety boots and hand gloves, while respiratory and eye protection recorded low utilization (grand mean = 2.93, SD = 1.02). Educational level produced a significant difference in the extent of PPE utilization, F(2, 284) = 14.87, p = .000. Years of work experience produced significant item-level differences in five of the seven PPE types; respirators, helmets, protective clothing, goggles and ear protection (all p < .001), while utilization of safety boots and hand gloves did not differ significantly by experience. The study concluded that PPE utilization among artisanal workers in Enugu metropolis is uneven and skewed away from the hazards that carry the greatest respiratory risk. It was recommended, among others, that occupational health regulations covering the informal sector be strengthened and that subsidised respiratory protection be made available to artisanal work clusters.