Assessment of Workplace Harmful Factors in Small Workshops

Abstract

Introduction: Small workshops play a great role in creation of the working opportunities, production, and economy of a country. In developing countries, the workers in small workshops are exposed to various health problems. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the workplace harmful factors in small workshops.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The research population included 1553 workshops affiliated to the health centers in Bojnurd, Shirvan, and Esfarayn cities in 2017. The census and face-to-face sampling methods were conducted to collect the needed information. Data collection tool was a workshop visit form.  In this study, SPSS version 18 was used to analyze the data.

Results: Of the 1,553 workshops, 1383 were domestic and 170 were non- domestic. Of the 2207 employees, 1889 worked in domestic workshops and 318 were employees of non-domestic workshops. Moreover, 15 percent of the workshops had appropriate facilities and 30 percent of the employees were in inappropriate situation. According to the findings, 16 and 10 percent of workers were exposed to harmful chemical agents and physical harmful factors, respectively. In addition, 52 percent of workers used appropriate personal protective equipment.

Conclusion: Due to the poor sanitary conditions of the workshops, health centers are recommended to monitor and collect more accurate information on workers' health in small workshops by conducting training programs.