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Impact of Occupational Eye-Safety Training on Protective Eyewear Use among Welders in Nigeria

Abstract

Occupational eye injuries are an important workplace health concern among welders in Nigeria because welding activities may expose workers to ultraviolet and infrared radiation, intense visible light, sparks, molten metal, fumes, dust, and flying particles. Prolonged or unprotected exposure to these hazards may result in eye irritation, foreign-body injuries, burns, corneal damage, visual discomfort, and other occupational eye problems. Despite the availability of protective eyewear, some welders may not use appropriate eye protection consistently because of inadequate safety knowledge, discomfort, poor availability, cost, workplace practices, or underestimation of occupational hazards. Occupational eye-safety training provides an opportunity to improve workers' knowledge of welding-related eye hazards, appropriate protective eyewear, correct use and maintenance, and the consequences of inadequate eye protection. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of occupational eye-safety training on protective eyewear use among welders in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Protection Motivation Theory. The Health Belief Model explains how welders' perceptions of susceptibility to occupational eye injuries, perceived severity, perceived benefits of protective eyewear, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence protective eyewear use. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, self-efficacy, behavioural modelling, reinforcement, and workplace environmental influences in developing and maintaining occupational safety practices. Protection Motivation Theory explains how perceived occupational threats, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and perceived response costs may influence workers' motivation to adopt protective behaviours. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how occupational eye-safety training may influence protective eyewear use among welders in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise welders aged 18 years and above working in selected formal and informal welding workshops across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, industrial clusters, welding workshops, and eligible welders. Occupational eye-safety training will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to safety-training sessions, frequency and duration of training, knowledge of welding-related eye hazards, understanding of ultraviolet and infrared radiation risks, knowledge of appropriate protective eyewear, correct selection of lens shade or protection level, proper fitting and use, cleaning and maintenance, replacement of damaged eyewear, and recognition of situations requiring additional eye protection. Protective eyewear use will be assessed using indicators such as availability of protective eyewear, frequency of use during welding activities, consistency of use, correct wearing practices, appropriate selection of protective eyewear, maintenance and cleaning, replacement of damaged equipment, use during grinding and related activities, and observed compliance with eye-protection requirements. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, occupational safety assessment tools, workplace observation checklists, training attendance records, and relevant occupational health and safety records. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, work history, welding activities, occupational eye hazards, training exposure, and protective eyewear practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of occupational eye-safety training on protective eyewear use. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, protective eyewear-use practices before and after the training intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that occupational eye-safety training has a significant positive impact on protective eyewear use among welders in Nigeria. Welders exposed to structured and practical eye-safety training are expected to demonstrate more consistent use of appropriate protective eyewear than welders without comparable training. Training may improve workers' understanding of welding-related eye hazards and increase awareness of the importance of appropriate eye protection. Practical demonstrations may improve workers' ability to select, correctly wear, clean, maintain, and replace protective eyewear. Training may also strengthen self-efficacy and increase workers' recognition of situations requiring eye protection during welding, grinding, cutting, and other related activities. However, discomfort, poor-quality protective eyewear, inadequate availability, cost, poor workshop conditions, heat, fogging, pressure from employers or customers to work quickly, lack of safety supervision, and weak enforcement of occupational safety requirements may reduce consistent use. The study therefore expects regular, practical, accessible, and workplace-specific occupational eye-safety training, supported by the availability of appropriate protective eyewear and effective workplace safety supervision, to contribute significantly to improved protective eyewear use among welders in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on occupational eye health, workplace safety, welding hazards, protective eyewear, occupational health education, injury prevention, industrial health, workplace health promotion, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, occupational health practitioners, industrial safety organizations, welding associations, employers, workshop owners, occupational safety officers, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for preventing occupational eye injuries. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening occupational eye-safety training, improving access to appropriate protective eyewear, promoting workplace safety supervision, enforcing occupational eye-protection requirements, improving safety standards in informal welding workshops, and developing sustainable occupational health programmes for welders across Nigeria.

Keywords: Occupational eye-safety training, protective eyewear use, welders, occupational eye health, workplace safety, welding hazards, eye injury prevention, occupational health education, personal protective equipment, Nigeria, public health.