International Research Conference of UWU-2021

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Browsing International Research Conference of UWU-2021 by Subject "Air pollution"

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    An Investigation on Awareness and Good Practices Regarding Respiratory Health Related Problems Among Traffic Police Officers in Colombo District, Sri Lanka
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Rajaratnam, K.; Bhagya, M.; Krishanthi, V.; Kavirathnalage, G.K.
    With increasing urbanization, a number of vehicles contribute to the severe pollution related health hazards. Traffic pollution is a major public health threat and traffic officers who are continuously exposed are at an increased risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness of police officers in Colombo district regarding respiratory problems that may arise in them. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted and the participants were traffic police officers with more than 5 years of experience. Convenient sampling technique was used to collect data using a self- administered questionnaire. Analysis of collected data was performed through Microsoft excel for descriptive statistics. Throughout the study of 50 traffic police officers, 76% of the respondents was between 20 to 30 of age and 24% was between 31 to 40 of age who had an experience more than 5 years. The results of the investigation of knowledge regarding “what is traffic air pollution” was relatively not satisfiable, since 22% of participants had false assumptions. Furthermore, it was remarked that 43.7% out of the total respondents were unfamiliar with the safety measures needed to reduce the risk of respiratory related health problems. According to previous studies, traffic police officers are prone to respiratory problems and 74% of the respondents in this investigation had knowledge regarding the risks of pollution on their health but very few were practicing the preventive measures. According to this investigation, the level of knowledge among participants is sufficient; however, the level of practice for preventing the risk of respiratory problems is not satisfactory. Furthermore, it is recommended to conduct awareness sessions regarding the importance of maintaining a safe respiratory health while providing them with sufficient safety gears to ensure the same. Keywords: Awareness; Traffic police; Respiratory problems; Air pollution