The Equipment Paradox: Explaining Differential Personal Protective Equipment Adoption Patterns Through Injury Experience and Perceived Threat in Informal Sector Welders
Cross-sectional analysis reveals varied PPE compliance patterns in informal welders, suggesting targeted interventions.
Key Points
This research investigates patterns of personal protective equipment adoption and their predictors among informal sector welders.
Cross-sectional analysis of 271 welders in Brikama, The Gambia
Latent class analysis employed to identify PPE adoption profiles
Demographic and occupational injury predictors assessed using multinomial logistic regression.
Three PPE compliance classes were identified: 61.3% selective compliance, 29.5% universal compliance, and 8.9% moderate compliance.
Increased odds of universal compliance are associated with welders having ≤ 10 years of experience (adjusted OR = 0.21, p = 0.001) and older age (aOR = 1.05, p = 0.032).
Prior injury experience did not significantly predict PPE adoption class membership.