Abstract

Background: Job-related injuries are common among artisans in developing countries. In Uyo, Nigeria, data on ocular injuries at workplace are not available to guide regulatory government agencies.
Objective: To determine the awareness level and protective eye devices use profile among workers in the Uyo Mechanic Village.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among artisans in a state-owned mechanics’ village in 2013. Result: Of the 109 subjects, 107 (98.2%) were men and two (1.8%) were women with a mean of 37.6 ± 9.2 years, and the age range was 18–62 years. Ninety-five subjects (87.2%) were not wearing any form of eye protection at work, 85 (78%) have never heard about protective eye wear at work, while 91 (83.5%) were not trained for using protective eye wear. Eleven cases (73.3%) had occupation-related ocular injury. Conclusion: Job-related eye injuries are common in our cohorts largely because of ignorance or nonuse of protective eye devices.