ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS, THE KNOWLEDGE AND  SAFETY PRACTICES OF LABOR CADRE TO PREVENT ACCIDENTAL INJURIES  AND MASS CASUALTY INCIDENTS OF THE CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY  CONSTRUCTION PROJECT - SECTION 2 

By 

Dr. K.D.B. Basnayake 

This research project is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements  of the Diploma in Health Sector Disaster Management 

Post Graduate Institute of Medicine  

University of Colombo Sri Lanka  

2018

ABSTRACT 

Background  

Man-made disasters and emergencies are getting more common globally with the rapid  development and globalization. There are 2.3 million deaths around the world due to occupation  related accidents or diseases every year according to the International Labor Organization. The  “Central Expressway Project” (CEP) is the largest highway construction project planned in Sri  Lanka involving thousands of local and foreign personnel, who are frequently exposed to hazards  capable to cause serious injuries and disasters. However the level of preparedness and safety  measures to prevent such encounters are scarce and need to be addressed profoundly. 

Objectives 

To assess the level of preparedness, the knowledge and safety practices of labor cadre to prevent  accidental injuries and mass casualty incidents of the Central Expressway Project, Section 2 during  the construction phase. 

Methodology 

Descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among, the labor cadre of Section 2. There were  407 candidates selected according to the simple random sampling method. A pre tested self administrated questionnaire was used to obtain necessary information.  

Results 

Majority of the labor cadre in the Project were 30 years and below (62.90%). The study group comprised of more males (84.50%) than females. There were Sinhala majority (88.20%), with  Tamils (6.9%) and Muslims (4.6%). Majority educated up to O/Levels (63.40%) and minority  (36.60%) were educated up to A/Level and above. Most of laborers (60.70%) had job experience  of 03 years or less. 74.14% participants had good knowledge regarding serious injury causing  hazards, only 23.30% of the labor cadre had good knowledge regarding safety practices and  available safety measures to prevent injuries and the majority76.70% was not having good  knowledge. Only 23.30% of the laborers were having good level of knowledge regarding the basic  first aid and available facilities in an emergency. According to the study, Age above 30 years of  the selected labor cadre was significantly associated [p = 0.015] with good knowledge regarding 

the hazards and serious hazards. Other factors like Sex and level of education had no statistically  significant association with knowledge regarding hazards, available safety measures or basic first  aid. Job experience above 03 years was significantly associated with good level of knowledge [p  <.000] regarding the hazards and awareness of serious hazards. There was a statistically significant  association [p < .000] between the safety training within 06 months with good knowledge of the  safety practices and available safety measures. Further, there was a statistically significant association [p < .000] between the first aid trained subjects with good knowledge of basic first aid. 

Conclusion 

The overall knowledge of hazards, safety measures and first aid of the labor cadre of the Central  Expressway Project Section 2 was not good. Therefore the level of preparedness to prevent  accidental injuries and mass casualty incidents was not adequate. The good knowledge of hazards  and serious hazards was associated with age and job experience of the labor cadre and it was not  associate with sex, ethnicity, or level of education. Frequent safety training and first aid training  was significantly associated with good knowledge regarding the safety and first aid to prevent  morbidity and mortality. 

Recommendations 

Frequent training in occupational safety and First aid for the labor cadre is essential and the  required measures must be implemented by the relevant authorities. It is recommended to  formulate an active mechanism to participate all the personnel for safety training and should ensure  these type of training programs are conducted in regular intervals preferably in less than six months  periods Young and personnel with minimum job experience have to be instructed to obtain advices  from senior workers with higher job experience.