Determination of the knowledge of pesticide damages of agricultural employees working in greenhouses and the use of personal protective equipment

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the pesticide knowledge level and personal protective equipment use of greenhouse workers and the factors affecting them. Method: The research is of descriptive type. The research was carried out in Kumluca district of Antalya between September 2020 and September 2021. Permissions from the Akdeniz University Clinical Research Ethics Committee and informed consent were obtained from the participants. The district of Kumluca was determined as the universe, and the neighborhoods where greenhouse agriculture was made were used in the selection of the sample. 420 individuals working in greenhouse agriculture were reached by quota sampling method. Results: It was determined that 91.2% of the participants in the study were permanent agricultural workers, 43.8% received training on the harms of pesticides, and 84.5% read the instructions for use on pesticide bottles. It was observed that 91.2% of the participants in the study were working continuously. It is stated that 36.7% of the workers in agriculture have spraying certificates; The mean scores of using WCE were 6.30±3.18; Pesticide knowledge mean score was found to be 24.72±5.52. The rate of those who fully use PPE is 24.14%. It was determined that 77.1% of the workers in agriculture use gloves, 68.1% use masks, 43.1% wear glasses and visors, 42.6% wear overalls and 55.7% wear boots . It was determined that normal clothes (22.4%), normal shoes (30.7%) and cheesecloth (12.9%) reserved for work were used. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of using PPE in exposure to pesticides and the mean score of knowing pesticide harms and the presence of plant protection products certificate, reading the instructions on the pesticide bottles, following the written instructions, knowing the poisoning symptoms and knowing the toxicity levels. Conclusion: It was observed that the participants in the study did not have sufficient knowledge about the use of PPE and pesticides. It has been revealed that awareness training should be given to agricultural workers in this regard. Key words: Greenhouse Agriculture, Pesticide, Pesticide Hazards, Personal Protective Equipment, Public Health Nursing.