Factors Related to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Usage Behavior in Suphan Buri Furniture Factory Workers

Abstract

The number of industrial factories in Suphan Buri province has increased continuously that can lead to problem of workers’ occupational hazards or illness in who do not use personal protective equipment resulting in loss in life and property. The research was designed to be a cross sectional survey research aimed to study the worker’s behavior of the PPE usage and explain the related factors among 325 Suphan Buri furniture factory workers. Data collected from questionnaires distributed during 12 March -24 September 2010 and the 318 sets of the questionnaire were completed (97.85%). In data analysis standard deviation and chi-square test were used.

It was found that 54.4 percent of workers were male, aged between 21-30 years (average 29.4 years) with an elementary school education (39.3%) mostly in wooden work (31.1%), general worker (70.8%). Most of them had working experiences 1-4 years (38.99%) 3.11 years on average. Only 48.7 percent used PPE. There were factors inducing PPE usage behavior at a high level (64.5%). The workers had high level of perception about occupation hazards or illness (76.1%). The top of high level perception were significantly related to the environment (91.8%), the barriers (85.2%) and the benefit of PPE usage (81.1%).

Correlation analysis found that age, working level, perception of benefits barriers and factors inducing PPE usage behavior were main factors correlate to PPE usage behavior (p < 0.05).

The research suggests that the administration should continuously proceed on induced behavior for example enforcement by administrative policy, providing adequate supplies of PPE and increase learning activities for the workers inorder to be aware of safety resulting from PPE usage through friends’ helpings friends group.