Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Epidemiol.
Sec. Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fepid.2024.1439038
This article is part of the Research Topic Trends in Occupational Health Epidemiology: The Role of Diet, Sleep and Shift Work in Chronic Disease View all articles

Prevalence of occupational Injuries and associated factors among solid waste collectors in Jigjiga city, eastern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study Design

Provisionally accepted
Liku M. Temesgen Liku M. Temesgen 1*Muktar Abib Muktar Abib 2Sina T. Tolera Sina T. Tolera 1Abdiwahab Hashi Abdiwahab Hashi 3Yohannes Mulugeta Yohannes Mulugeta 1
  • 1 School of Environmental Health Science, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia, Harar, Ethiopia
  • 2 Smart Consulting Firm, Somali Region,, Jigjiga, Ethiopia
  • 3 Department of Public Health, Jigjiga University,, Jigjiga city, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Solid waste collectors play an important role in maintaining health and hygiene in cities globally. The risk levels are very high in low-income countries since solid waste collectors have low socio-economic status and are exposed directly, unknowingly, and without adequate personal protection to municipal solid waste that contains hazardous materials. Solid waste collectors in Ethiopia are at high risk of occupational injuries due to the manual collection of hazardous solid waste by hand. In Jigjiga city, so far, there has been no study or published research showing the prevalence of occupational injuries and associated factors among municipal solid waste collectors.Objective: To assess the prevalence of occupational injuries and associated factors among solid waste collectors in Jigjiga City, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia, 2023.Methods: An institutional cross-sectional study was conducted in Jigjiga City, Somali Regional State, involving 247 solid waste collectors. Data was collected through an observational and structured questionnaire and analyzed using Epi Info and STATA software programs. The study used systematic random sampling techniques and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses to determine the statistical association between the outcome variable and independent variables. The significance of the association was tested using the 95% confidence interval and p value (< 0.05).The overall prevalence of occupational injuries was 54.7% (95% CI: 48.2%, 60.6%).Training on health and safety measures before employment [AOR: 0.43, 95% CI (0.24, 0.80)],sleeping problems [AOR: 3.28, 95% CI (1.86, 5.78)] and Temporary workers [AOR: 2.14, 95% CI (1.16, 3.95)] were significantly associated with occupational injuries.The prevalence rate of occupational injuries among solid waste collectors in Jigjiga City was high. There should be preventive measures, like giving Training on Health and safety before employment, to safeguard the health and safety conditions of the workers.

    Keywords: Accidents, Occupational Injuries, Solid waste collectors, Jigjiga City, Ethiopia

    Received: 27 May 2024; Accepted: 18 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Temesgen, Abib, Tolera, Hashi and Mulugeta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Liku M. Temesgen, School of Environmental Health Science, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia, Harar, Ethiopia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.