Awareness of Pesticide Poisoning among the Health Care Workers of Chitwan, Nepal

摘要

The pesticide use in Nepal has increased by 10-20% annually, thereby increasing the chances of pesticide poisoning. Five million people die every year because of pesticide exposure worldwide. Cross sectional study was conducted to determine the knowledge of PP among HCWs. Six out of forty HCWs had received pesticide training. Only ten and two HCWs had knowledge about red and green color coding of pesticides, respectively. HCWs were aware of either two or more than two clinical features of acute pesticide poisoning but none of them knew about the complete set of clinical features. Half of the HCWs were unaware of the chronic effects of PP. In spite of dealing and managing cases on a regular basis, most of the HCWs had an insufficient knowledge on pesticide poisoning. So there stands a need for strengthening knowledge and creating awareness among HCWs for prompt diagnosis, proper management and prevention of PP.