Assessment of the Farmers’ Awareness about Occupational Safety and Health and Factors Affecting it; A Case Study in Mahidasht, Kermanshah Province

Aims: In Iran, safety and health education in agriculture such as the industrial sector has not been taken into account, and most farmers are not covered by professional health. The aim of this study was to assess the farmers’ awareness about occupational safety and health and factors affecting it. Instruments & Methods: The population of the present descriptive correlational study included ۱۴۰ households from farmers based on the simple random sampling method in ۲۰۱۴, in Mahidasht, Kermanshah Province, Iran. A researcher-made questionnaire was used as a research instrument and its validity was confirmed by the panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbachchr('۳۹')s alpha coefficient. The data were analyzed by SPSS ۲۳, using multiple stepwise regression and Pearson correlation test. Findings: Most of the farmers had a negative attitude towards the observance of occupational health issues. The mean awareness had a significant correlation with social status (r=۰.۴۷; p=۰.۰۰۱), satisfaction of the agriculture as an occupation (r=۰.۵۱; p=۰.۰۰۰۱), attitude (r=۰.۳۷; p=۰.۰۱۲) and, economic status (r=۰.۴۲; p=۰.۰۰۵). In the first step, the social status and satisfaction of the agriculture as an occupation predicted ۶۶.۹% of variance of awareness. In the second step, social status and satisfaction of the agriculture as an occupation as well as attitude predicted ۵۳.۳% of variance of awareness, and in the third step, by adding economic status to the previous variables; all variables predicted ۵۱.۲% of variance of awareness. Conclusion: The level of farmers’ awareness about occupational safety and health is moderate. Social status, attitude, and economic status affect the farmers’ awareness about occupational safety and health.

Keywords:

Occupational Safety , Health , Awareness , Farmers