https://doi.org/10.33698/NRF0207- Sanjay , Amandeep Kaur
Abstract : Health is not something that one possesses as a commodity, but connotes rather a way of functioning within one’s environment (work, recreation and living). This fact is more important in situations as the personnel engaged in traffic duty. Due to their nature of duty traffic police personnel are suffering from many health hazards like skin irritations, hearing problems, arthropathy, photosensitivity, lung diseases, certain cardiovascular diseases, cancers etc.The study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution among traffic policemen working at selected Districts of Punjab. A descriptive study was conducted in District Bathinda and sample size was 60 traffic policemen who were working at traffic intersections. Structured knowledge questionnaire, likertscale and observational practice checklist was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices health hazards management against traffic pollution among traffic policemen.The findings of the study revealed that most of the traffic policemen (75%) had average knowledge, 86.7% had favourable attitude and all traffic policemen had poor practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. There was no relation between knowledge and attitude, positive co-relation between knowledge & practices and attitude & practices. Place of posting and attended any educational programme on traffic pollution and its health hazards had association with knowledge of traffic policemen and no association of attitude and practice with demographic variables It was concluded that traffic policemen had average knowledge, favourable attitude and poor practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution.
Keywords
Knowledge, attitude, practices, traffic pollution, health hazards, traffic policemen
Correspondence at
Amandeep Kaur
M.Sc (N) Community Health Nursing
State Institute of Nursing and Paramedical Sciences, Badal, Punjab
Introduction
The Indian Police Service, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. In 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain, the Indian Police was replaced by the Indian Police Services.1Highway Police and Traffic police in small towns come under the state police, but traffic police in the cities come under the metropolitan police. The traffic police are responsible for maintaining the smooth flow of traffic and stopping offenders in the city or town, whilst the highway police are responsible for securing the highways and for catching speeding offenders.2 When work is associated with health hazards, it may cause occupational disease, be one of the multiple causes of other disease or may aggravate existing ill-health of non- occupational origin. In developing countries, where work is becoming increasingly mechanized, a number of work processes have been developed that treat workers as tools in production, putting their health and lives at risk.1 In order to study the health hazards of traffic pollution on human systems, like respiratory and hearing problems the section of the population considered most suitable for study was the traffic policemen who are posted at various traffic junctions through which maximum number of vehicles pass.
Air, noise, heat, radiation etc. are the main sites of environment pollution and this is more so in urban areas. Occupational environment too plays a major role on the health of the exposed. The health hazards get more severe when the duration of exposure increases. This fact is more important in situations as the personnel engaged in traffic duty. These personnel have to undergo physical and mental strain in an environment polluted by fumes, exhaust of vehicles, use of blowing horns, blow of dust in the air by a speeding vehicle etc. The personnel also pursue a near sedentary type of work as they only stand at one place for long hours or just walk a few meters, only when necessity arises.3 Due to their nature of duty traffic police personnel are suffering from many health hazards like skin irritations, varicose veins, arthropathy, photosensitivity, lung diseases, certain cardiovascular diseases, cancers etc.4 The most serious health hazards associated with high level of noise exposure is deafness which initially causes temporary hearing problem or deafness while prolonged exposure to high noise level causes permanent deafness hearing damage.5
The traffic policemen are screwing their health for the general public and are more exposed to occupational hazards. They work in an extremely bad working condition, standing for eight to twelve hours in sun, rain, pollution and smoke of the vehicles. It is the responsibility of the health personnel to help them in turn to take care of their health, as many of these health problems are preventable. During the process of review of literature, it was observed that the number of studies on assessing the health problems among traffic policemen in India is less. The researcher being a nurse during her field experience is hence motivated to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution among traffic policemen.
Objectives
- To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen regarding health hazards management against traffic
- To determine the relationship between the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding health hazards management against traffic
Materials and Methods
A non-experimental research approach was used for the present study as it is aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution among traffic policemen working at selected Districts of Punjab. A descriptive research design was considered appropriate for the present study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution among traffic policemen with selected variables like age, educational status, place of posting, experience of service, no. of duty hours last week, monthly income (in rupees), attended any educational programme on traffic pollution and its health hazards, source of information about traffic pollution and its health hazards. Independent variables of the study were age, educational status, place of posting, experience of service, no. of duty hours last week, monthly income (in rupees),any educational programme on traffic pollution and its health hazards, source of information about traffic pollution and its health hazards. Dependent variables of the study were knowledge, attitude and practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution among traffic policemen.
The study was conducted in district Bathinda, Punjab. The total traffic policemen in the district was 76. The rationale for selecting this setting was the researcher’s familiarity with the area, feasibility, expected cooperation from the subjects, got permission from the Inspector General of Police, Bathinda Zone to conduct the study, local language, geographical proximity, besides time and economical consideration.The target population of this study was the traffic policemen working in district Bathinda.Sample for the study consisted of 60 traffic policemen and selection was on the basis of convenience sampling technique from district Bathinda, Punjab. Inclusion criteria : Willing to participate,understand Punjabi / English and working to control traffic of vehicles on roads.
After extensive review of literature and with the help of experts, tool was prepared having following sections:Section A: Description of Demographic Variables. Section B: Structured Knowledge Questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution.This section consisted of 24 items which were structured multiple choice questions having one correct answer among four options, viz., scoring 0 for incorrect answer and 1 for correct answer. The maximum score was 24 and minimum score was 0 on structured knowledge questionnaire. Score of 17-24 was considered Good, Score of 9-16 was considered Average and Score of 0-8 was considered Poor,Section C: LikertScale was developed to assess attitude regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. This section consisted of16 items. The statements were developed for the respondents to respond on five point Likert Scale that is Strongly Agree(SA) Agree(A) Uncertain(UC) Disagree(D) Strongly Disagree(SD) Statements on attitude scale were stated in both positive and negative form, the positive statements were score as 5,4,3,2,1 on the possible responses and the negative statements were score as 1,2,3,4,5 on the possible responses. Maximum attitude score was 80 and minimum attitude score was 16.Score 59-80 indicated as Favourable, score 38-58indicated as Moderately Favourable and score 16-37 indicated as Unfavourable. Section D: Observational practice check list was developed to identify health hazards management against traffic pollution. The observational practice checklist consisted of 8 items regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. The items were observed and by ticking either ‘Yes’or ‘No’. The maximum score was 8 and minimum score was 0. Score 5-8was considered Good and Score 0-4 was considered Poor. Formal administrative approval to conduct the study was obtained from Inspector General of Police, Bathinda Zone. The data was obtained from February 1, 2015 to February 22, 2015. A written consent was obtained from the traffic policemen willing to participate. The investigator, before collecting the data from the traffic policemen,explained the nature, purpose and assured confidentiality to obtain responses.
The tool was administered to traffic policemen and the purpose of the study was explained. Traffic policemen who were willing to participate in the study and who are working to control traffic of vehicles on roads were included as study subjects. The average time taken by traffic policemen to complete the structure knowledge questionnaire was 20-25 minutes, attitude scale was 15-20 minutes and observation of practices was 1 hour for each traffic policemen. The tool administration employed 2 hours for each traffic policemen.
The data analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics by calculating the frequency percentage and ‘chi square’ test. Bar graph and pie charts were used to depict the analysis.
Results
Sample characteristics as per age majority (66.7%) were in the age group of 41- 50 years and only 6.7% were in the age group of 51- 60 years. Distribution of subjects according to educational status, Two-third of traffic policemen(65%)were educated till secondary and3.5% were educated till postgraduate. As per place of posting, 95% policemen were posted in urban and 5% in rural. Majority of traffic policemen (75%)were having less than 5 years of experience of service in traffic and 8.3% were having more than 15 years. Majority of traffic policemen (88.3%) were having more than 44 hours of duty last week and 3.3% were having duty of 36 hours. One third of traffic policemen (38.3%) were having monthly income of Rs. 30,001- 40,000. Among all traffic policemen 55% have never attended any educational programme on traffic pollution and its health hazards and 45% have attended any educational programme on traffic pollution and its health hazards. Majority of traffic policemen (75%)had a source of information about traffic pollution and its health hazards from Mass media (Newspaper, Radio, Television, Magazine, Internet).
Table 1 depicts that the frequency and percentage distribution of traffic policemen in terms of levels of knowledge, attitude and practice score. The data reveals that most of the traffic policemen (75%) had average knowledge, 10% had good knowledge and 15% had poor knowledge. It further depicts that majority of the traffic policemen (86.7%)were having favourable attitude and 13.3% were moderately favourable regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. Regarding practice, itshows that all the traffic policemen had poor practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution.
Table 1: Level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution
N=30
| Range | Traffic Policemen Frequency (f) Percentage (%) | |
| Level of Knowledge | ||
| Good | 17-24 | 6(10.0) |
| Average | 9-16 | 45(75.0) |
| Poor | 0-8 | 9(15.0) |
| Level of Attitude | ||
| Favourable | 59-80 | 52.0 (86.7) |
| Moderately Favourable | 38-58 | 8.0 (13.3) |
| Unfavourable | 16-37 | – |
| Level of Practice | ||
| Good | 5-8 | – |
| Poor | 0-4 | 6(100.0) |
In the knowledge questionnaire majority of the traffic policemen 57(95%) had knowledge regarding the use of safety measures to be used during every day traffic duty and no one had knowledge regarding the effect of traffic air pollution on respiratory tract.
Table-2: Knowledge of traffic police personnel regarding different aspects of health
| S.
No. |
Questions | Correct Answers |
| 1. | Traffic pollution results into destruction of pure quality of air & noise by expulsion of harmful emissions from vehicles. | 32 (53.3%) |
| 2. | Health hazards which occur due to traffic pollution are respiratory & hearing problems | 26 (43.3%) |
| 3. | Type of engine causing more traffic pollution is 2 stroke engine | 10 (16.6%) |
| 4. | Peak time of traffic pollution is evening | 21 (35%) |
| 5. | Type of vehicle causing more traffic pollution is diesel vehicle | 52 (86.6%) |
| 6. | The components of traffic air pollution is suspended particulate matter, Carbon dioxide and Carbon monoxide (All of above) | 24 (40%) |
| 7. | Continuous exposure to traffic air pollution causes shortness of breath | 32 (53.3%) |
| 8. | Following are effect of traffic air pollution on respiratory tract except Liver cancer (Pneumonia, Lung cancer, Bronchial asthma) | 00 (0%) |
| 9. | Effect of traffic air pollution on human skin is rashes | 11 (18.3 %) |
| 10. | Most suitable method to prevent health hazards by traffic air pollution is by using Antipollution Mask | 33 (55%) |
| 11. | Safety precautions used by traffic policemen to prevent health hazards due to traffic pollution are mask, goggles, gloves, earplugs & earmuffs | 31 (51.6%) |
| 12. | Health hazards on constant exposure to traffic noise pollution are insomnia & Headache | 28 (46.6%) |
| 13. | The safe sound waves for human ear are upto 60 Db | 40 (66.6%) |
| 14. | Preventive measures to protect from traffic noise pollution are earplugs & earmuffs | 29 (48.3%) |
| 15. | Harmful effect of traffic pollution on human eyes is short sightedness | 08 (13.3%) |
| 16. | The reason behind the excess emission from vehicles is lack of maintenance of vehicle, use of more diesel vehicles, low quality fuel (All of above) | 27 (45%) |
| 17. | Nephrotoxicity among traffic policemen is due to constant inhalation of automobile polluted air | 29 (48.3%) |
| 18. | Purpose of using goggles are except it prevent eye discharge | 20 (33.3%) |
| 19. | Use of mask help to prevent respiratory problems | 54 (90%) |
| 20. | Effects of Sulphur dioxide inhaled during traffic pollution can be minimized by intake of water & fruits | 36 (60%) |
| 21. | After traffic duty what should be done firstly resting | 34 (56.6%) |
| 22. | Antipollution mask is necessary to wear among traffic policemen who are working regularly in traffic zones | 48 (80%) |
| 23. | Pollution under control certificate should be renewed every6 months | 42 (70%) |
| 24. | Safety measures should be used during every day traffic duty | 57 (95%) |
Table -3: Attitude of traffic policemen regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution
| S.
No. |
ITEMS | SA | A | UC | D | SD | |
| 1. | + | Traffic policemen should protect himself from traffic pollution. | 54 | 12 | 00 | 01 | 00 |
| 2. | – | Wearing mask interferes with routine walky and whistling. | 10 | 22 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| 3. | + | Antipollution mask can avoid diseases like bronchitis, bronchial asthma & lung cancer. | 40 | 20 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| 4. | – | Antipollution mask should only be used during heavy smoke only. | 18 | 14 | 05 | 19 | 04 |
| 5. | + | Mask doesnot interrupt normal breathing pattern. | 30 | 23 | 03 | 04 | 00 |
| 6. | + | Wearing goggles limit eye infections. | 27 | 13 | 02 | 15 | 03 |
| 7. | + | Goggles prevent the entry of carbon particles into eyes. | 33 | 20 | 01 | 04 | 02 |
| 8. | – | I want to quit from duty due to traffic pollution. | 02 | 03 | 07 | 31 | 17 |
| 9. | – | Using mask will not help me in any way. | 08 | 13 | 04 | 30 | 05 |
| 10. | + | Mask have benefit and not just a wastage of money. | 34 | 24 | 02 | 00 | 00 |
| 11. | + | Earplugs and earmuffs are best to protect from traffic noise pollution | 27 | 21 | 02 | 10 | 00 |
| 12. | – | I will use the safety equipment when they are made compulsory by government. | 15 | 10 | 00 | 07 | 00 |
| 13. | – | Sometimes vehicles not having pollution under control certificate can be left without challan. | 15 | 05 | 03 | 16 | 11 |
| 14. | + | There should be regular medical checkup of traffic policemen to detect health hazards. | 48 | 11 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
| 15. | + | Pollution certificate of vehicles is necessary. | 27 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| 16. | + | Education regarding health hazards management due to traffic pollution should be given by department. | 48 | 11 | 00 | 00 | 01 |
SA: Strongly agree, A: Agree, UC: Uncertain, D: Disagree, SD: Strongly disagree
Table 4 depicts that the observational practice of traffic policemen regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. The data presented in the table shows that majority of traffic policemen 36.7% using hand to protect from traffic air
pollution and least 8.3% using fingers to prevent traffic noise pollution followed by 35% using handkerchief to cover mouth and nose, 16.7% used goggles to cover eyes regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution.
Table 4: Health hazards management against traffic pollution by traffic policemen
N=60
| S.
No. |
Items | Frequency of Traffic
Policemen Frequency (f) Percentage (%) |
| 1 | Antipollution mask is used | 0 |
| 2 | Handkerchief is used to cover mouth and nose | 20(33.3%) |
| 3 | Using hand to protect from traffic air pollution | 20(33.3%) |
| 4 | Goggles used to cover eyes | 15(25.0%) |
| 5 | Reflective jacket used during duty time | 0 |
| 6 | Use of gloves to protect hands | 0 |
| 7 | Earplugs or earmuffs being used | 0 |
| 8 | Traffic policemen using fingers to prevent traffic noise pollution | 5(8.3%) |
Table 5 depicts that the coefficient of co- relation (r) between knowledge and attitude score of traffic policemen was 0.221. The findings suggest that knowledge and attitude towards health hazards management against traffic pollution have positive impact on each other. It depicts that the coefficient of co-relation (r) between knowledge and practice score of traffic policemen was 0.528. The findings suggest that knowledge and practices towards health hazards management against traffic pollution have positive impact on each other. It further depicts that the coefficient of co-relation (r) between attitude and practice score of traffic policemen was 0.478. The findings suggest that attitude and practices towards health hazards management against traffic pollution have positive impact on each other.
Table 5: Correlation between the knowledge and practice and attitude score of traffic policemen towards health hazards management against traffic pollution
N=60
| Group | Knowledge Score
Mean ± SD |
Practice Score
Mean ± SD |
Attitude Score
Mean ± SD |
R |
| Traffic Policemen | 12.07±3.649 | 0.97±0.450 | – | 0.528 |
| Traffic Policemen | – | 0.97±0.450 | 63.53±4.180 | 0.478 |
| Traffic Policemen | 12.07±3.649 | – | 63.53±4.180 | 0.221 |
Association of demographic variables and level of knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution.
Association of demographic variables and level of knowledge concluded that age, educational status, experience of service, no. of duty hours last week, monthly Income (in rupees), source of information about traffic pollution and its health hazards were not associated with level of knowledge,attitude and practice of the traffic policemen. The place of posting and ever attended any educational programme on traffic pollution and its health hazards was significantly related to knowledge score (p< 0.05 )
DISCUSSION
The Indian Police Service, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. In 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain, the Indian Police was replaced by the Indian Police Services.1 When work is associated with health hazards, it may cause occupational disease, be one of the multiple causes of other disease or may aggravate existing ill-health of non-occupational origin. In order to study the health hazards of traffic pollution on human systems, like respiratory and hearing problems the section of the population considered most suitable for study was the traffic policemen who are posted at various traffic junctions through which maximum number of vehicles pass.
The results of present study revealed that 75% of the respondents had average knowledge regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. The findings of the present study are supported by Shashidhara.G.S (2005)6 showed that 90% of respondents had average knowledge regarding traffic air pollution and safety measures. The results of present study revealed that 86.7% of the respondents had favourable attitude regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. The findings of the present study are supported regarding safety measures.The current study revealed that 100% of the respondents had poor practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. The findings of the present study are supported by Venkatappa et al (2012)7 showed that none of them used ear plugs/ ear muffs and the reason for non-usage was non availability.
The results revealed that knowledge and attitude towards health hazards management against traffic pollution have positive impact on each other. The findings of the present study are contradicted by Shashidhara.G.S (2005)6 showed that the co-relation (r) of traffic policemen knowledge and attitude with regard to mask is r = -0.10 , so there is negative co-relation between knowledge and attitude with respect to mask and also showed that co- relation between knowledge and attitude of goggle is r = -0.09, so there is negative co- relation knowledge and attitude with respect to goggle.
The findings of present study revealed that knowledge and practices towards health hazards management against traffic pollution have positive impact on each other. The findings of the present study are supported by Shashidhara.G.S (2005)6 showed that coefficient of co-relation (r) between knowledge and practice regarding mask was 0.53. Hence found statistically significant, there is a relationship between knowledge and practice with respect to mask and the coefficient of co-relation (r) between knowledge and practice regarding goggle was 0.30. Hence found statistically significant, there is a relationship between by Shashidhara.G.S (2005)6 showed that knowledge and practice with respect to 58.3% of respondents had fair attitude goggle. The study revealed that attitude and practices towards health hazards management against traffic pollution have positive impact on each other. The findings of the present study are contradicted by Shashidhara.G.S (2005)6 showed that the coefficient of co-relation (r) between practice and attitude with regard to mask is – 0.16. Hence not found statistically significant, there is no relationship between practice and attitude with respect to mask and the coefficient of co-relation (r) between practice and attitude with regard to goggle is -0.15. Hence not found statistically significant, there is no relationship between practice and attitude with respect to goggle. The place of posting and educational programme on traffic pollution and its health hazards was significantly related with knowledge and attitude of police personnel at 0.05 level of significance. No other demographic variables were related to the level of attitude of traffic policemen regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution
The present study concluded that traffic policemen have average knowledge, favourable attitude and poor practices regarding health hazards management against traffic pollution. Hence it is recommended that police men should be educated about protection against health hazards and more studies are required to be done in this field.
References
- Service profile for Indian police Service nic.in/pdfs/IPSProfile_180314.
- Law Enforcement in India 6 April 2014 at 09:37 wikipedia.org/wiki/law_enforcement_in_India.
- Garg S, Nath current status of national rural health mission. Indian Journal of Community Medicine; 2007. Available from: http//www.India- now.org.
- Neopane Occupational hazards for traffic police. 2012 [cited 2013 Dec 20]. Available from: Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, Web site:http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/03/12/related -articles/occupational-hazards//fortraffic/police- 0fficer/350418.html.
- Sowmyashree MS, Sushma NA, Namratha ML. Impact of Amusement Park on Air And Noise Journal of Environment and Pollution. 2001; 8(1) :85-95.
- Shashidhara A descriptive study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding safety measures among traffic policemen to protect against health hazards generated by traffic air pollution in Banglore City. 2005 November 2005; 1- 120.
- Venkatappaet AL. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen regarding the auditory effects of Indian J PhysiolPharmacol. 2012; 56(1) : 69–73.