Health and Physical Education

Impediments to and Optimization Strategies for Solid Wastes Management among Solid Wastes Management Workers in Anambra State.

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Impediments to and Optimization Strategies for Solid Wastes Management among Solid Wastes Management Workers in Anambra State. Umeh, Ukamaka Loveth The study focused on impediments to and optimization strategies for solid waste management in Anambra State with the objective of determining the impediments to solid waste collection, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal and optimization strategies for improved waste management. Eleven specific objectives with corresponding eleven research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. Pertinent literature was reviewed and the study utilized the descriptive research design. The population for the study consisted of all the solid waste management workers in Anambra State. The entire population was used for the study because it was manageable. Structured questionnaire served as the instrument for data collection. Face validity of the instrument was ensured through the constructive inputs of five experts. Data generated were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviation while t-test statistic and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the five null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Results showed that in Anambra State, financial constraint is a major impediment to solid waste collection; non-compliance of people to disposing waste at designated areas is a major impediment to waste storage; bad road network poses highest impediments to solid waste transportation; absence of appropriate technologies and ignorance on how to treat and recycle waste poses greater impediment to solid waste treatment; poor recycling method indicates the highest impediments to solid waste disposal while poor consumption by the agricultural sector is not an impediment. Also, the study found out that there is a significant difference in the impediments to solid waste management based on gender, job description, unlike job status, job experience and location at .05 level of significance. Majority of the respondents preferred organizing seminar, workshops and in-service training for workers as the educational optimization strategy, and upgrading workers’ working conditions as attitudinal optimization strategy, for solid waste management in Anambra State. Based on these findings, the study recommended among others that: solid waste management should be well funded and workers’ welfare improved; roads and inter streets road network should be improved; modern technologies should be provided and in-service training given to workers on how to use them.

Socio-Demographic Correlates of Cardiovascular Diseases and Preventive Strategies among Retirees in Enugu State, Nigeria

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Socio-Demographic Correlates of Cardiovascular Diseases and Preventive Strategies among Retirees in Enugu State, Nigeria Ugbelu, Jacinta Ejiaka Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) constitute major public health problem and impose a huge burden in terms of mortality, morbidity and disability worldwide. CVDs are among top killer diseases in the world affecting diverse populations in both developed and developing countries. The purpose of the study was to investigate the socio-demographic correlates of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and preventive strategies among retirees in Enugu State. Eight specific objectives, with corresponding research questions and five null hypotheses guided the study. Correlational research design was used for the study. The population for the study comprised 8,947 retirees in Enugu State. The sample size was 1002 respondents, comprising 972 retirees, and 30 health experts from the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education; District Hospital, Nsukka; and Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu. The sample was selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. Three instruments were used for data collection and they are: Socio-demographic Correlates of Cardiovascular Diseases Questionnaire (SCCVDQ), Cardiovascular Diseases Focus Group Discussion Guide (CVDFGDG) and Cardiovascular Disease Preventive Strategies Questionnaire (CVDPSQ) which were validated by experts from Departments of Human kinetics and Health Education; and Science Education of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Research questions 1, 2 and 8 were analysed using frequencies and percentages. Research question 3-7 were analysed using Phi-coefficient. Logistic regression analysis was used to test hypotheses 1-5 at 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of the study were as follows: moderate proportion (42.6%) of retirees suffered from CVDs, moderate proportion (39.4%) of retirees were exposed to CVD risk factors. Socio-demographic variable of the age ((φ =.16) and the gender (φ = .28) had positive relationship with CVDs, the level of education (φ = -.28) and the level of income (φ = - .01) had negative relationship with CVDs, while the place of residence (φ= .29) had positive relationship with CVDs. Also, findings indicated that age (p < .05) and gender (p < .05) were significantly associated with CVDs, level of education (p > .05) and level of income (p > .05) were not significantly associated with CVDs while place of residence (p < .05) was significantly associated with CVDs The data generated from the focus groups were summarized and the information obtained were used to complement the quantitative data. Based on the major findings, preventive strategies were formulated and validated. Most of the items of CVDs preventive strategies such as regular checking of blood pressure and blood sugar, daily intake of fruit and vegetables were considered appropriate by the experts for inclusion in the cardiovascular disease preventive strategies. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended among others that retirees should adopt the preventive strategies developed to curtail exposure to CVD risk factors and subsequent development of CVDs; regular health screening of the retirees during their verification exercises or monthly meetings by the health workers to identify those at risk of CVDs and suggest adequate intervention.

Occupational Health Needs, Problems and Intervention Strategies for Female Lecturers in Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Occupational Health Needs, Problems and Intervention Strategies for Female Lecturers in Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State Orisa, Charity Ogwueru Workers’ health and healthy work environments are among the most valuable assets of individuals, communities and countries globally. Occupational health therefore remains imperative as it addresses the health of workers for higher productivity, quality of products, work motivation, job satisfaction among others. This study investigated occupational health needs, problems and intervention strategies for female lecturers in tertiary institutions in Rivers State. To achieve the purpose of the study, 21 specific objectives with the corresponding research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was adopted and the population for this study was 911 which consisted of all female teaching staff in all the public tertiary institutions (State and Federal tertiary institutions) in Rivers State. However, in this study the entire population was used hence, there was no sampling since the population size was relatively manageable. Two instruments were used for data collection namely; Occupational Health Needs and Problems Questionnaire (OHNPQ) and Intervention Strategies for Occupational Health Needs and Problems Questionnaire (ISOHNPQ). Frequencies and percentages were used to answer the research questions while Chi Square Statistic was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance and appropriate degree of freedom. The major findings obtained from the study showed that: more than half (67.2%) of the respondents identified health education intervention, screening programmes and vocational rehabilitation as mental health needs of female lecturers. Also, more than half (63.4%) of female lecturers considered the social health needs such good interpersonal relationships among colleagues support from male counterparts and administrative staff necessary. Female lecturers also identified health checks/blood pressure check (96.6%), healthy eating/weight management (94.5%), physical activity (91.8%), mental wellbeing (91.5%), and ergonomic aids (86.7%) as necessary in the workplace. More than half (69.2%) of the experts considered the formulated intervention strategies such as female lecturers engagement in health checks/blood pressure checks (84.6%), adoption of healthy eating pattern and weight management practices (76.9%) among others as appropriate for promoting occupational health needs of female lecturers and two-third (73.1%) of the experts considered the formulated intervention strategies such as provision of free or subsidized occupational health care services for lecturers by the school management (84.6%) among others as appropriate for preventing and mitigating occupational health problems of female lecturers. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that Rivers State government should partner with the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to adopt the intervention strategies for occupational health needs and problems formulated by this study for inclusion into occupational health programmes for female workers and the school management of all the tertiary institutions in Rivers State should implement the intervention strategies formulated in this study in order to improve the health and wellbeing of female lecturers in their workplace.

Knowledge of, Attitude towards Occupational Hazards, and Compliance with Safety Precautions among Workers in Plastic Manufacturing Industries in Anambra State.

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Knowledge of, Attitude towards Occupational Hazards, and Compliance with Safety Precautions among Workers in Plastic Manufacturing Industries in Anambra State. Ononuju, Amaka Harry The study determined knowledge of, attitude towards occupational hazards, and compliance with safety precautions among workers in plastic manufacturing industries in Anambra State. Seven specific objectives with corresponding seven research questions and fifteen null hypotheses guided the study. The cross-sectional research design was utilized for the study. The population for the study comprised of all the 242 workers in registered plastic manufacturing industries in Anambra State in 2017. Structured and validated questionnaire with five sections served as instrument for data collection. Split-half method of reliability was used to test the reliability of the instrument. Spearman-Brown correlation formular was used to compute the reliability of sections B and C of the instrument while Cronbach Alpha statistic was used to determine the internal reliability of section D and E of the instrument since they are polychotomously scored. After computation, reliability coefficients of .76, .74, .75 and .78 and was obtained for sections B, C, D and E. The general coefficient of .79 was obtained for the instrument. All the research questions were answered using frequency and percentages while all the null hypotheses were tested using Chi-square statistic at .05 level of significance and appropriate degrees of freedom. The findings of the study revealed that more than half (59.1%) of workers identified occupational hazards in plastic manufacturing industries. Majority (64.35%) of the workers possessed high level of knowledge of occupational hazards regarding chemical hazards (68.46%), allergenic agents (68.06%), mechanical hazards (66.0%), ergonomic hazards (64.18%), psycho-social hazards (63.64%), and physical hazards (62.96%) while a little more than half of the workers possessed moderate level of knowledge of biological hazards (57.14%). Slightly more than half of the workers (55.4%) demonstrated positive attitude towards occupational hazards. Most workers expressed positive attitude towards chemical hazards (69.8%), psycho-social hazards (60.8%), and allergenic agents (60.2%). More than half of the workers displayed positive attitude towards physical and mechanical hazards (53.2%), whereas more workers had negative attitude towards biological hazards (61.2%). Workers complied with safety precautions are as follows: always (32.3%), sometimes (35.6%), rarely (19.6%), and never (12.5%). There was no significant difference in the workers’ knowledge of occupational hazards based on age (overall χ2 = 4.630, P-value = 0.352 > .05 @ df = 3). There was no significant difference in the knowledge of occupational hazards among workers based on age (χ2 = 4.630, p-value = 0.352 > .05 @ df = 3), gender (χ2 = 1.013, p-value = 0.474 > .05 @ df = 1), level of education (χ2 = 4.466, p-value = 0.385 > .05 @ df = 3), job description (χ2 = 5.426, p-value = 0.51 > .05 @ df = 5) and job experience (χ2 = 2.653, p-value = 0.517 > .05 @ df = 3). There was no significant difference in workers’ attitude towards occupational hazards based on age (χ2 = 9.182, p-value = 0.470 > .05 @ df = 9), gender (χ2 = 2.791, p-value = 0.523 > .05 @ df = 3), level of education (χ2 = 12.063 , p-value = 0.239 > .05 @ df = 9), job description (χ2 = 16.335, p-value = 0.404 > .05 @ df = 15) and job experience (χ2 = 12.063, p-value = 0.239> .05 @ df = 9). There was no significant difference in workers’ level of compliance based on age (χ2 = 15.251, p-value = .084 > .05 @ df = 9), gender (χ2 = 1.384, p-value = .709 > .05 @ df = 3), level of education (χ2 = 11.976, p-value = .215 > .05 @ df = 9), job description (χ2 = 15.119, p-value = .443 > .05 @ df = 15) and job experience (χ2 = 7.820, p-value = .552> .05 @ df = 9).The study concluded that majority of workers possessed high level of knowledge of ocuupational hazards and expressed negative attitude towards biological hazards. Based on the findings and conclusions, the study recommends among others that employers should give periodic in-service training, sensitizations and workshops to increase workers level of knowledge of hazards especially biological hazards.