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Influence of Occupational Respiratory Assessment on Occupational Asthma Detection among Agricultural Workers in Nigeria

Abstract

Occupational asthma is an important respiratory health concern among agricultural workers in Nigeria because of their potential exposure to dust, pollen, moulds, pesticides, animal proteins, grain particles, and other respiratory sensitizers encountered during farming and agricultural processing activities. Repeated occupational exposure to these agents may contribute to respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Occupational asthma may remain undetected when symptoms are mild, intermittent, or incorrectly attributed to infections, environmental pollution, or other respiratory conditions. Delayed detection may result in continued exposure to workplace triggers, worsening respiratory symptoms, reduced work capacity, absenteeism, and impaired quality of life. Occupational respiratory assessment provides an opportunity to identify respiratory symptoms and possible work-related asthma through routine occupational health evaluations, respiratory questionnaires, exposure assessments, lung function testing where appropriate, and referral for specialist assessment. Early detection may facilitate appropriate medical evaluation, exposure reduction, workplace modifications, and effective asthma management. However, limited occupational health services, inadequate respiratory assessment facilities, shortage of trained healthcare personnel, low awareness, financial barriers, and weak referral and follow-up systems may limit the effectiveness of occupational respiratory assessment among agricultural workers in Nigeria. Against this background, this study investigates the influence of occupational respiratory assessment on occupational asthma detection among agricultural workers in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Occupational Health Theory, the Health Belief Model, and the Health Systems Framework. Occupational Health Theory emphasizes the prevention, identification, monitoring, and management of occupational health hazards and their effects on workers' health. The Health Belief Model explains how agricultural workers' perceptions of susceptibility to occupational asthma, perceived severity, perceived benefits of respiratory assessment, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence participation in occupational respiratory health assessments. The Health Systems Framework emphasizes service delivery, health workforce, health information, medical products and technologies, financing, and accessibility as essential components of effective occupational respiratory assessment and disease management programmes. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how occupational respiratory assessment may influence occupational asthma detection among agricultural workers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative cross-sectional analytical or quasi-experimental research design. The study population will comprise agricultural workers involved in farming, crop production, livestock production, agricultural processing, and related activities across selected locations in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, agricultural communities, farms, agricultural processing facilities, and eligible workers. Occupational respiratory assessment will be measured using indicators such as availability of respiratory assessment programmes, assessment coverage, frequency of respiratory assessments, respiratory symptom questionnaires, occupational exposure assessment, history of work-related respiratory symptoms, lung function assessment such as spirometry where appropriate, availability of trained occupational health personnel, respiratory protective equipment assessment, health education, and referral arrangements. Occupational asthma detection will be assessed using indicators such as work-related wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, changes in respiratory symptoms during work and away from work, abnormal respiratory assessment findings, newly identified suspected occupational asthma, referrals for specialist evaluation, diagnostic confirmation where appropriate, and linkage to appropriate treatment and occupational health services. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, occupational respiratory assessment forms, workplace health records, lung function records where available, exposure assessment records, referral registers, and relevant agricultural organization documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize workers' characteristics, occupational exposures, respiratory assessment coverage, respiratory findings, and patterns of occupational asthma detection. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the influence of occupational respiratory assessment on occupational asthma detection. Where appropriate, occupational asthma detection rates before and after implementation of occupational respiratory assessment programmes may be compared to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that occupational respiratory assessment has a significant positive influence on occupational asthma detection among agricultural workers in Nigeria. Agricultural workers who participate in regular respiratory assessments are expected to have a higher likelihood of having previously undetected work-related respiratory symptoms or suspected occupational asthma identified than workers without access to such assessments. Routine respiratory assessment may facilitate early recognition of work-related respiratory symptoms and provide opportunities for appropriate clinical evaluation, lung function testing, exposure assessment, and specialist referral where necessary. Early detection may allow affected workers to reduce exposure to relevant respiratory hazards, improve workplace practices, use appropriate protective measures, and receive timely asthma management. Occupational respiratory health education may also increase workers' awareness of respiratory hazards, appropriate protective equipment, safe pesticide handling, dust control, and the importance of reporting work-related respiratory symptoms. Conversely, inadequate assessment coverage, limited respiratory diagnostic facilities, shortage of trained occupational health personnel, low worker participation, financial constraints, inadequate protective equipment, and weak referral and follow-up systems may reduce the effectiveness of occupational respiratory assessment. The study therefore expects accessible and well-organized occupational respiratory assessment to contribute significantly to improved detection and early management of occupational asthma among agricultural workers in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on occupational respiratory assessment, occupational asthma detection, agricultural workers' health, occupational respiratory diseases, workplace exposure, occupational health, respiratory disease prevention, workplace health promotion, preventive healthcare, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, agricultural organizations, farmers' associations, occupational health practitioners, respiratory physicians, public health professionals, employers, agricultural extension workers, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for protecting the respiratory health of agricultural workers. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for expanding occupational respiratory assessment programmes, improving access to respiratory health services, strengthening monitoring of occupational respiratory exposures, increasing availability of trained occupational health and respiratory professionals, promoting appropriate use of respiratory protective equipment, improving workplace health education, strengthening referral and follow-up systems, and integrating respiratory health assessment into comprehensive occupational health programmes for agricultural workers across Nigeria.

Keywords: Occupational respiratory assessment, occupational asthma detection, agricultural workers, occupational asthma, respiratory health, workplace exposure, occupational health, respiratory disease prevention, workplace health promotion, preventive healthcare, Nigeria, public health.