Ocular protection practice and associated factors among welders in small-scale industries in Hosanna town, Southern Ethiopia, 2023.

Purpose: Good eye protection is the most important factor in preventing eye injuries. Most eye injuries are due to the improper use or lack of use of eye protection equipment. Therefore, this study aims to assess eye protection practice and associated factors among welders in small-scale industries in Hosanna town of Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 420 welders between 14 August and 14 September 2023. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data entered into Epi-data V.4.6 and analysed using a statistical package for social science V.25.0. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the characteristics of study participants. Binary logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with eye protection practice. Finally, the OR with a corresponding 95% CI was computed to show the strength of the association. A p value <0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance.

Results: A total of 420 study participants were included. Good eye protection practice was 43.6% (95% CI 43.41 to 43.79). Monthly income between 4000 and 8000 and above 8000 Ethiopian birr, knowledge (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.90, 95% CI 1.96 to 7.78), permanent work pattern (AOR=2.86, 95% CI 1.59 to 5.17), previous ocular trauma (AOR=3.09, 95% CI 1.53 to 6.22) were positively associated with good eye protection practice.

Conclusion: The results of this study revealed poor eye protection practice among welders. Factors such as monthly income, previous ocular injury, work pattern and knowledge of eye Personal Protective Equipment were significantly associated with eye protection practice.