The Implications of a Health Promotion Program on the Knowledge and Practice of Automotive Workers Exposed To Solvent

Abstract

Problem statement: An in-house health promotion program aimed at promoting safety and health awareness when handling organic solvents at the workplace was carried out and its effectiveness was evaluated by comparing the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) scores at the pre and post-intervention phase. Approach: A total of 104 workers participated in the program and another 176 workers served as the comparative group. Questionnaire was distributed to respondents for the program evaluation on the KAP as well as to obtain their background information. The program consisted of small group lectures and discussions, a short video show, display of posters and distributions of pamphlets. Results: Pre-intervention data showed poor practice and knowledge scores on solvent hazards (<80%) among all respondents. There was a significant difference in the scores of knowledge (p<0.001) and practice (p = 0.04) between the pre- and post-intervention phase among the intervention group. The intervention group had significantly higher scores in knowledge than the comparison group at the post-intervention phase. Findings showed that practice was not significantly correlated with knowledge, however, it was influenced by section employment as reflected by the length of time they had been working in various sections of the Paint Department. Conclusion: There were improvements in the KAP scores of the intervention group at the post-intervention phase. However, the practice was not significantly correlated to the knowledge, instead, it was influenced by the employment years in the heavily solvent exposed sections in the Painting Department indicating that their job experience and peer group interactions contributed to their work culture and behavior.