title: Effect of health education intervention on the awareness and use of personal protective equipments among small scale electric arc welders in Ilorin, Nigeria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Welding is associated with workplace hazards that can affect the health of those who engaged in it as they are exposed to harmful dust.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a health education intervention study carried out among self-employed electric arc welder. Data were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire and health education intervention was carried out between the preintervention and postintervention stages. Epi-info version 3.5.1 software package was used for data analysis and Chi-square analysis was used to determine the statistical significance of observed differences between the study and control groups before the intervention and after intervention. Level of significance was set at a P < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the preintervention phase, 285 respondents were interviewed in each of the study and control groups, while 280 study respondents and 275 control respondents were available for the postintervention phase of the study. Before the intervention, 279 (97.9%) of the respondents in the study group were aware of eye goggles as a means of protection, 20 (7%) were aware of welding helmet, 206 (72.3%) were aware of hand gloves and 4 (1.4%) were aware of face mask. All showed a significant increase in awareness postintervention (P < 0.05) while there was no significant increase in awareness in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health education brought about a significant increase in awareness and use of personal protective equipment among the welders. There is a need for proper education of welders on workplace hazards, the types and use of different protective devices in other to safeguard their health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Ido Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Kayode R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Adewoye
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Ademola O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Awoyemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Ido Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Oluwole A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Babatunde
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Ido Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Oladele A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Atoyebi
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Sarafadeen K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Salami
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Funsho Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Issa
keywords: Equipments; health education; welder