The level of knowledge and practice of workers towards occupational hazards in the floriculture industry in Western Oromia, Ethiopia

Ararso Tafese; Habtamu Oljira; Fikru Negasa; Jiregna Darega; Abera Shibru; Wabi Temesgen Atinafu

doi:10.15406/mojph.2026.15.00517

MOJ

eISSN: 2379-6383

Public Health

Research Article Volume 15 Issue 2

The level of knowledge and practice of workers towards occupational hazards in the floriculture industry in Western Oromia, Ethiopia

Ararso Tafese, Habtamu Oljira, Fikru Negasa, Jiregna Darega, Abera Shibru, Wabi Temesgen Atinafu

Received: March 10, 2026 | Published: April 28, 2026

Citation: Tafese A, Oljira H, Negasa F, et al. The level of knowledge and practice of workers towards occupational hazards in the floriculture industry in Western Oromia, Ethiopia. MOJ Public Health. 2026;15(2):83-88. DOI: 10.15406/mojph.2026.15.00517

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Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and practice of workers towards occupational hazards in the floriculture industry in Western Oromia. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to August 2024 to assess knowledge, practice and associated factors towards occupational health hazards among 656 workers in a floriculture industry by using a simple random sampling method. A structured face-to-face questionnaire was used to collect the data. Bivariate and multivariate regression was used to identify associated factors. Results: A total of 656 participants were included in the study sample with a 100 % response rate. The majority of participants were female workers (81.4%) with a mean age of 24.85 (+ 6.31). only 38.9% of workers received training on existing health-hazardous areas, whereas 5.6% were oriented on the safety sign and symbols. The level of knowledge and practice of workers had towards occupational health hazards were 55.0% and 29.4% respectively. Conclusion: The provision of training and awareness creation on safety signs and symbols were the important area that needs the intervention of employers and responsible bodies.

Keywords: employees, floriculture, health hazards, knowledge, practice