Determinants of Work-Related Risks among Veterinary Clinical Students in South West Nigeria

Oluwawemimo O Adebowale; Monsurat O Afolabi; Hezekiah K Adesokan; Olubunmi G Fasanmi; Olanike K Adeyemo; Olajoju J Awoyomi; Folorunso O Fasina

doi:10.1155/2020/2780378

Determinants of Work-Related Risks among Veterinary Clinical Students in South West Nigeria

Vet Med Int. 2020 Aug 1:2020:2780378. doi: 10.1155/2020/2780378. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Oluwawemimo O Adebowale¹, Monsurat O Afolabi¹, Hezekiah K Adesokan², Olubunmi G Fasanmi³, Olanike K Adeyemo², Olajoju J Awoyomi¹, Folorunso O Fasina^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Federal University of Agriculture, Alabata, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
² Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
³ Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
⁴ ECTAD, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁵ Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.

Abstract

Veterinary practices or activities expose professionals, including students, to hazards associated with animal contact. To describe workplace health and safety status and risk factors associated with hazards among veterinary clinical students in South West Nigeria, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using a semistructured questionnaire. Data on demographics, health and safety (HS) status, work-related hazards, healthcare facilities, and immunisation history were obtained. Of 167 students recruited, 100 (60.2%) were males, and >77.1% fell within the age group of 21-25 years. Many participants (77.0%) reported the lack of active HS committee. Exposures to various physical hazards (PHs) such as needlestick injuries (NSIs, 41.5%), animal scratches (42.0%), animal kicks (33.0%), falls/slips (25.0%), and, less frequently, animal bites (13.8%) were reported. Allergies (35.9%) and acute gastrointestinal infection (25.6%) mainly after contact with dogs presented with parvoviral enteritis were reported. For chemical hazards, 27.8% and 29.0% of participants indicated having had eye burn and choke on exposure to formalin. No adequate immunisation against either tetanus, rabies, or both was provided (<18%). An association between accommodation type and students' level of health and safety training was observed (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.241-0.897, p=0.02), and frequencies of student contact with various animal types were strongly associated with exposures to different physical and biological risks (p < 0.05). This study revealed poor health and safety training, practices, and increased exposure of students to a wide range of hazards. Therefore, the development of mitigation programmes in veterinary schools becomes critical to safeguard students' wellbeing.