Evaluation of knowledge, attitude and behavior of workers towards occupational health and safety

ABSTRACT

Studies show that about 90% of accidents occur because of unsafe behavior and human errors. Even if workers do not have the right knowledge, attitude and behavior toward safety measures in a safe workplace, all efforts for an accident-free workplace will be in vain. This study aims to determine the level of knowledge, attitude and behavior of workers toward occupational health and safety. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on workers in Mahshahr Razy Petrochemical Complexm Ahwaz, Iran. A sample size of 210 was randomly selected. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Questionnaire's validity was gained by content-validity and its reliability was validated by Kronbach's alpha. Data was analyzed using SPSS 13. Mean age of workers was 31.1 years. The mean of their knowledge, attitude and behavior was reported 26.02, 153.18 and 36, respectively. 52.9% of workers had low, 36.7% moderate and 10.5% high level of knowledge. In addition, 75.7% of the subjects had a positive attitude towards occupational health and safety; 30% of workers had low safety behavior and 70% had safe behavior. The mean of knowledge grade shows a significant relationship with education level. A same relationship was reported for the mean of attitudes and behavior with age. Managers should design and implement educational interventions to promote knowledge, attitude and safe behaviors of workers