Effect of an Occupational Health and Safety Educational Intervention on Knowledge, Practices, Musculoskeletal Disorders, and Injuries Among Oilseed Processing Workers

Occupational hazards, injuries, work-related illnesses, and fatalities remain core public health challenges in industrial settings. Workers in oilseed processing factories are exposed to multiple occupational risks; however, evidence regarding the effectiveness of occupational health and safety educational interventions in these settings remains limited and not explored and examined. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of educational program on workers occupational health and safety (OHS) knowledge, attitudes, practices, and the prevalence of occupational injuries in oilseed processing (OSP) factories. A quasi-experimental controlled pretest–posttest intervention study design will be conducted among 466 factory workers selected through simple random sampling and equally allocated to intervention and control groups. Around 466 workers recruited from 10 randomly selected OSP factories in Eastern Ethiopia. The factories will be purposively allocated into intervention (n = 5) and control (n = 5) groups based on geographical location, with 233 workers randomly selected from each group (1:1 allocation). Eligible participants will be factory workers aged ≥18 years with at least one year of employment. OHS Educational intervention program will be implemented for 3 months. The intervention consisted of a three-month OHS educational program incorporating health education sessions, on-the-job training, and informational leaflets. Data will be collected at baseline and post-intervention. Data will be entered using Epi-Data and analyzed in STATA version 16.1. Between-group differences will be assessed using chi-square, independent t-, and Mann-Whitney tests. Multivariable logistic regression and generalized estimating equations (GEE) will be applied to estimate intervention effects using a difference-in-differences approach. Statistical significance will be set at p < 0.05. Regarding ethics and dissemination, Ethical approval was obtained from the Jimma University Institute of Health Institutional Review Board (Ref: JUIH/IRPB/217/25). Findings will be disseminated through collaboration with factory management, health professionals, government agencies, community stakeholders, and non-governmental organizations to facilitate the implementation and scale-up of effective workplace OHS interventions. This study will generate robust evidence on the effectiveness of an OHS educational program in enhancing workers OHS knowledge, attitudes, and practices while reducing or not occupational injuries and work-related Musculo-skeletal disorders (WMSDs) among OSP factories workers in Ethiopia. The study is expected to generate context-specific evidence that can inform workplace OHS policies and guide the development of feasible, evidence-based interventions for industrial workers in Ethiopia. At the time of reporting, the intervention is started but not completed, and post-intervention data collection is also not completed.