The Increase in Frequency of Protective Behavior against Pesticide Poisoning in Narail, Bangladesh through Use of an Easy Paper Checklist; an Interventional Study

Abstract

Protecting the health of farmworkers is a crucial issue. Previous studies report that safety training and educational interventions might increase farmworkers’ protective behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of distributing a checklist as an interventional measure for pesticide protection in rural Asia, where pesticide poisoning is a major problem. This study was a community-based interventional study, using the distribution of a checklist with pesticide protective habits in Narail district, Bangladesh, with a total of 100 eligible males. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted before distributing the checklist and 25 days after. Change between the baseline and follow-up surveys was measured by frequency scores of protective behavior. The average pesticide-protective behavioral score increased from 4.58 in the baseline survey to 8.11 in the follow-up. Additionally, the checklist was more effective in the group with higher education, the younger group, and the group with lower pesticide-protective behavioral scores in the baseline survey. The paper checklist on protective behaviors against pesticide poisoning was effective because of the increase in the frequency of such positive behavior among farmworkers. Thus, intervention measures should be implemented to increase the knowledge and awareness regarding pesticide protection habits to protect the health of farmworkers.

Community-based intervention for managing hypertension and diabetes in rural Bangladesh

“…The weak intervention group did not show improvements in hypertension, diabetes, and risk behavior. This result is in contrast with that of a previous intervention study, without a control group, where the use of a checklist poster for pesticide protective behavior significantly changed the behavior among farmers in the region [ 26 ]. This finding indicates the need for more frequent and elaborate interventions than the weak intervention to improve blood pressure and risk behavior related to NCDs.…”

“…All interventions were conducted in the local language. We selected the interventions from previous interventional research on NCDs, namely checklist poster [ 26 ], seminar and video interventions [ 7 – 10 ], and texts messages [ 20 ]. We experienced the project that easy paper checklist about pesticide protective behavior improved outcome in this area [ 26 ].…”

“…We selected the interventions from previous interventional research on NCDs, namely checklist poster [ 26 ], seminar and video interventions [ 7 – 10 ], and texts messages [ 20 ]. We experienced the project that easy paper checklist about pesticide protective behavior improved outcome in this area [ 26 ]. Nevertheless, previous literatures showed that strong interventions were required to improve the outcomes associated with NCDs.…”

Examination of Cluster Groups of Risk Behaviors and Beliefs Associated with Non-Communicable Diseases with Latent Class Analysis: A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural Bangladesh

“…Factors associated with the very high-risk and high-risk groups were high age, female gender, and shorter educational years. A previous interventional study that used an educational checklist for pesticide protection in Bangladesh showed that the effect of educational intervention was smaller in groups consisting of individuals who were older and had shorter educational years [ 29 ]. The proportions of aging individuals, females, and those with short education years in the very high-risk and high-risk groups were quite high.…”