Health and safety study amongst painters in Nigeria

Health is a fundamental human need that falls under the umbrella of psychological and safety needs, making it eligible for government attention through the creation of policies as well as industrial and occupational monitoring. The prevalence and contributing factors of occupational exposure to paints and their components was accessed using n=512 randomly selected painters from major cities in the study. A structured World Health Organization questionnaire was used for data collection. The findings indicated that majority of respondents (48.8%) were aged between 22 and 36 and mostly had secondary education. All respondents were aware of the occupational risks but took to negligence, as 96% of respondents do not wear any personal protective kits during painting, and demonstrated a negative attitude towards them. Three-quarter of the study group had respiratory disorder such as coughing (78%), alongside high reported complaints such as irritation to eyes (56%), skin (59%), nose (31%) health issues associated with painting. Despite the risks associated with painting it remained a source of income for the majority of respondents, which inhibits their propensity to abandon it. Negative health symptoms observed in painters includes neuropsychological symptoms. Development of effective frameworks for a better integration, implementation and adherence to occupational safety using consumer products such as paints is very salient. Stringent regulations must be in place to curb indiscriminate usage of hazardous materials beyond the international set standard in products.