209 Evaluating the respiratory protection programs in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry: approach to assessing knowledge, awareness, behaviour, and compliance

The oil and gas industry in Nigeria poses significant health risks to its workers due to exposure to crude oil and petroleum products during various processes. To ensure worker safety and health, the Respiratory Protection Program (RPP) is essential. However, past studies have identified a knowledge-practice gap leading to inadequate safety practices. This study aims to assess the RPPs in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry by evaluating workers’ knowledge, awareness, behaviour, and compliance regarding respiratory protection while aligning with the hierarchy of controls. It has four main objectives: Assess the overall control program in reducing respiratory hazards, following the hierarchy of control. Evaluate the functional and effective elements of the RPP in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Determine if knowledge and awareness of respiratory protection vary by location or processes. Evaluate employee compliance with the RPP. The study will employ a mixed-method approach, combining open-ended qualitative data collected through interviews with industrial hygienists and numerical quantitative data obtained from questionnaire surveys of health and safety officers and workers in selected oil and gas companies. The COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation - Behavior) model will guide the development of questions for both approaches. The findings aim to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current RPP, offering insights for improvement. This will significantly enhance occupational health and safety practices within the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Notably, this study is groundbreaking in Nigeria, as it utilizes the COM-B model to examine the behaviour of oil and gas workers in complying with respiratory protection measures, making it a pioneering effort in this field.