Occupational health risks and safety awareness among welders in Nepal, a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Globally, over 2.3 million people die each year as a result of diseases or injuries related to their jobs, and 313 million suffer from non-fatal ailments. Welding is one such profession, which is a hazard-prone job with several potential risks, including burns, electrocution and the potentially deadly risk of fume exposure. In Nepal, people taking the welding profession are aware of the risks associated with their jobs, but they often do not take preventive measures because of ignorance, perceived discomfort in their jobs and lack of knowledge about occupational safety laws and regulations. This increases the probability of accidents. 

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore occupational health risks and safety awareness among welders and their adherence to occupational safety and health regulations in Nepal. 

DESIGN: A qualitative, cross-sectional study employing a thematic analysis approach was adopted. 

SETTING: The research was conducted in small-scale welding workshops located in a semiurban area in Bhaktapur District, central Nepal, reflecting the informal industrial sector. 

PARTICIPANTS: 26 male welders, aged 18-42 years, originally from nine districts across Nepal, participated, each from a different workshop, thus reaching 26 small-scale welding workshops. All were engaged in welding work at the time of the study. Participants were selected using snowball sampling. Most had not completed secondary education and had work experience ranging from 1 to 22 years. 

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: As a qualitative study, the primary outcome was the thematic exploration of welders' experiences. The main themes included occupational health risks and injury management, personal protective equipment (PPE) use and barriers, access to healthcare and insurance, and awareness of occupational health and safety (OHS) policies and training opportunities. RESULTS: The study revealed significant occupational health risks, including eye burns, electric shocks and physical exhaustion among the welders. Further, the participating welders reported limited access to health insurance and inadequate awareness and access to PPE. Furthermore, awareness of safety policies is also low among welders. While support groups and associations exist, their support is often insufficient, thus perpetuating challenges in workplace safety. 

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a glimpse of the ground reality of welding workers in small-scale industries in Nepal, showing gaps and the need for safe occupational practices that must be addressed. Further study and work are needed to establish better occupational safety practices and improve the health and safety status of welders.