Knowledge and Attitudes on Practices of Occupational Safety and Health in the Informal Non-food Manufacturing Sector in Kampala City, Uganda

Abstract

The informal non-food manufacturing sector is an engine of growth and development in both developed and developing countries. The sector is unregulated and unregistered in official government statistics. However this particular sector is faced with occupational safety and health hazards without preventive measures. The study assessed knowledge and attitudes on practices of occupational safety and health in the informal non-food manufacturing sector in Kampala City, Uganda. It adopted across sectional survey design that involved both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. A total of 424 firms were sampled from the 6 clusters of the informal sector. Respondents were moderately knowledgeable on hazards with 39.7% compared to 25.5% who reported high level of exposure. Overall the knowledge on occupational safety and health hazards was inadequate while attitude especially on the use of PPE was poor. There was a high level on knowledge towards hazard control measures by complying with the safety measures (PPE 52.6% and good housekeeping 54.4%) although no significant difference was observed in their adherence to control measures. Attitude towards the use of control measures was found to moderate with PPE 62.9% and good housekeeping 61.1% Creation of awareness, training, and application of Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, inspection and enforcement by the relevant regulatory agency as well as proactive multi-media strategies to improve the situation is recommended.