Determinants of Self-reported Morbidity among Victims of Occupational Hazard Exposure in Cement and Ceramic Production Companies in Kogi State, Nigeria

The burdens borne by employees who are victims of occupational health hazard (OHH) exposure in cement and ceramic factories, have aroused scholarly attention. Several studies have focused on health hazards with dearth of information on the actual determinants. This study therefore investigated the determinants of symptoms of self-reported morbidity distribution among victims of OHH exposure at the cement and ceramic companies in Kogi State. The study adopted a mixed methods approach involving 545 employees from Dangote Cement (DCP) PLC in Obajana and West African Ceramics Ltd (WACL) in Ajaokuta. Sample size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan (1970)’s formula. The Health Belief Model was employed as the explanatory framework. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the factory employees and complemented with 4 key informant interviews with medical personnel and 3 focus group discussion sessions with selected employees of the companies (DCP=2; WACL=1). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression, while qualitative data was content-analysed. The mean age of all the respondents was 34.70±9.18 years. Junior staff (80%) were more at WACL than DCP while senior staff dominated the cement company. Some of the common morbidity symptoms reported at DCP and WACL included body pains (52%), body weakness (52%), injuries and fractures (64%) and skin infections (64%). Patterns of morbidity symptoms were predicted by working in WACL (uOR: 9.503), being senior staff (aOR: 0.080), contract staff (aOR: 1.698), rotational shift (aOR: 0.208) and N69, 000–79,000 salary (aOR: 1.110). Both companies are plagued by occupational hazards, underscoring the need for stringent compliance with available protective equipment and regular medical evaluations to enable timely detection and effective treatment.