Prevalence and Determinants of Occupational Health Problems Associated with Coastal Fishing in Rivers State

This research investigated prevalence and determinants of occupational health problems associated with coastal fishing in Rivers State. The study was guided by four specific objectives and four research questions with three hypotheses tested. Cross-sectional descriptive research design was used for the study. From a population of 2,051 coastal artisanal fishermen association members, a sample of 410 was drawn. Multistage sampling procedure was used in the study. The instrument for the study was validated, structured questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.87. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics of percentage, mean, and standard deviation used for the research questions, while the inferential statistics of point biserial correlation at 0.05 confidence level was used for the hypotheses. Findings were prevalence of occupational health problems (arthritis, 5.90%, other musculoskeletal disorders, 4.42%; serious punctured injuries, 2.70%; hypertension/stroke, 2.95%; hernia, 2.21%; and infections, 6.63%), and of their determinants, namely river channel siltation (2.87±0.48), ocean material pollution (2.68±0.69), and incompatible canoe usage (2.39±0.55). The researchers thus recommended among others that: Concerned persons, non-governmental organizations, and governments should strive further for malaria control and eradication efforts, functional health centres along with potable water to inhabitants therein; Rivers State Government in association with the local governments controlling these settlements should increase enlightenment campaign to encourage these fishermen see routine medical examination as a necessity; multinational organizations together with Federal and states Government should intermittently identify and dredge some river channels to reduce coastal fishermen workload; the United Nations Environment Programme should increase its activities to reduce oceans pollution with large, non-degradable materials.