Occupational Hand Dermatitis among Hair Dressers in a Semi-urban Community in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria

Abstract

Background Hair dressers are exposed to diverse potential irritation-causing hair beauty products and  therefore, at a high risk of occupational hand dermatitis. This category of workers especially in the developing world like Nigeria, may not be applying requisite safety practices for the prevention and control of possible  hazardous effects of chemicals contained in these beauty products.
Aim This study aimed to determine the prevalence of occupational hand dermatitis among hair dressers  in Choba, a semiurban community in Rivers State,  Nigeria. It also assessed respondents' knowledge and behavior towards the causes (or risk factors) and control of occupational hand dermatitis.
Methods Following ethical approval, this descriptive cross sectional study recruited 108 consenting  hair dressers by multistage sampling. Pre-tested,  semi-structured, close-ended interviewer- administered questionnaires probed socio-demographics, past medical I occupational history, knowledge and behaviour of respondents towards occupational hand dermatitis. Data collected were later analyzed using descriptive statistical tools.
Results With a predominantly young (18-25 years modal age range) female (84. 7%) population, this  study had a prevalence of 34.3% occupational hand dermatitis. This low prevalence was complemented  by a high (55.2%) level of knowledge even when there were risk factors (viz: alcohol (41.9%), smoking (2.9%), allergy (9.5%), and chronic exposure).
Conclusion The study showed that there was a low prevalence of occupational hand dermatitis among hair dressers in Choba community due to a high knowledge of the causes of the disease and good safety  practices towards prevention and control. It is recommended that health education be sustained and extended to other communities.

Keywords: occupational hand dermatitis; hair dressers; Nigeria.