Assessment of Knowledge on Occupational Safety among Workers in Umuoghara Stone Quarry, Ezza North, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Background: Occupational safety is important for protecting workers from hazards that cause injuries, illnesses or fatalities. In Nigeria, industries like quarry and mines expose workers to significant risk including dust inhalation, physical injuries and noise pollution. Despite the high prevalence of occupational hazards in industries, especially the quarry and mine industries, evidence suggests that misconceptions and inadequate safety practices are still being carried out. Increasing the level of knowledge of workers still stands out as one of the strategies that will improve occupational safety practices among workers. Objective: To determine the level of knowledge among workers regarding occupational safety in selected industries in Ebonyi State. Materials and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study was used. Workers were sampled from Umuoghara quarry site, Ezza North, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from workers. Data collected were analyzed using International Business Machine Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS) program version 26.0. Results: Mean age of workers is 34.92 ± 6.180, age group 36 – 42 had the highest number of participants 116 (39.8%), females formed the majority of the participants 165 (56.7%), majority of the participants were married 163 (56.0%), had no formal education 191 (65.6%) and a good number of the participants were Christians 241 (82.8%). Majority of the respondents’ level of knowledge regarding occupational safety measures was poor 273(93.1%). There was association between gender and level of education with level of knowledge which is statistically significant, p< 0.05 and there was a relationship between level of education and knowledge level of occupational health and safety among workers which is statistically significant with P<0.001.(AOR) Adjusted odd ratio 65.022 (8.859 – 477.229 at 95% (C.I.)) Conclusion: Respondents had low level of knowledge regarding occupational safety measures.