Factors related to behaviors on pesticide protection of pesticide spraying workers in Dong Prakham Sub-District, Phrom Phiram District, Phitsanulok Province

Abstract

The pesticide spraying workers had more health risks form pesticide exposure than farmers. Especially, they worked in double-crop field that cultivate rice three times a year. The study design was cross-sectional descriptive study and the objective of this study was to study factors related to behaviours on pesticide protection of pesticide spraying workers in Drongphakum Sub-district, Phrom Phiram District, Phitsanulok Province. The KAP theory was applied for data were collected by using questionnaire from 30 spraying workers and was analyzed by descriptive statistics and chi-square test. The results found that most spraying workers had the pesticide protection behaviours at a medium level (63.3%). Despite, they had knowledge and attitude about pesticide protection at a high level of 66.7% and 96.7%, respectively. From studying of factors that related for pesticide protection behaviours, the finding showed that personal factors, knowledge and attitude don’t related to behaviours on pesticide protection. However, the health problems such as hypertension and allergy related for the pesticide protection behaviours showed significant at the 95% (p=0.03). From this study results showed that pesticide issues will only improve pesticide protection behaviours due to their behaviours be from habitude for personal protection equipment (PPE) using and they complained about costly, inconvenience, take time and feeling the heat for PPE wearing. Therefore, it is importance for creating awareness of health risks from pesticide exposure because the result found that who had the health problems such as hypertension and allergy, always consult form the doctors, so they had more awareness from pesticides. Moreover, most of them (90.00%) didn’t ever detect pesticides in blood. There¬fore, related organization should to give more knowledge, attitude and practices supporting for less score topics, service for pesticide detection in order to increase awareness of the pesticides harmful effects. May be they will improve the behaviours for pesticide protection.