Managing occupational health among goldminers in Ghana: Modelling the likelihood of experiencing occupational related health problems

BACKGROUND: The importance of goldmining to Ghana’s development cannot be overestimated. However, the associated morbidities and mortalities resulting from occupational exposure to health hazards and the general cost associated with it is critical. In managing occupational health, a simple comprehension of the main determinants of the problem is required. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 504 goldminers was fitted to a nested binary logistic regression model to evaluate the independent effect of subsector departments, compositional attributes, contextual factors and working conditions on goldminers’ likelihood of experiencing occupational related health problems. RESULTS: Subsector department was robust and persisted in predicting experiencing occupational related health problems in all three models. Goldminers who were in artisanal small scale (ASM) non-production, large scale (LSM) production and LSM non-production were less likely to experience occupational related health problems as compared to their counterparts in ASM production. For the compositional factors, female goldminers were more likely to experience occupational related health problems as compared to their male co-workers. Goldminers who were married and also older miners were more likely to experience occupational related health problems as compared to the unmarried and the relatively younger goldminers. At the contextual level, miners who worked on shift-based schedule and also miners who lived close to mine sites were more likely to experience occupational related health problems. Among the working conditions, goldminers who worked in good health conditions were less likely to experience occupational related health problems. Surprisingly, goldminers who rated their safety conditions as good were more likely to experience occupational related health problems. CONCLUSION: Gold miners are exposed to different health risk scenarios across subsectors and departments. These conditions need critical attention and action from industry stakeholders. Programs that promote self-care culture should be promoted, especially in the ASM subsector. PPE’s could be relied on for protection in the mining industry but they should be the last line of defense and not to replace preventive measures and actions.