EFFECT OF HEALTH EDUCATION TRAINING PROGRAMME ON KNOWLEDGE OF RISKY DRIVING BEHAVIOURS AMONG COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVERS IN ONDO STATE

ABSTRACT

Road traffic accident and its related injuries tend to be under recognized as a major health problem in developing countries. However, majority of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low income and middle income countries. Since the main cause of road traffic accident is often attributed to human risky behaviors, it is important to identify significant factors for risky behaviors of drivers. The prevention of road traffic accidents should be considered a serious public health concern, since they are the eighth leading cause of death globally and the main cause of death for young people aged 15-29. Evidences from many countries show that successes in preventing road traffic injuries can be achieved through concerted efforts at national level. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of health education intervention to prevent risky driving behaviours among commercial drivers in Ondo State.

A quasi experimental design was employed, involving 2 motor parks in different parts of the state with 30 commercial vehicle drivers as respondents. These drivers were divided into two groups: experimental and control groups. Structured questionnaires were administered to commercial drivers who met the inclusion criteria and who voluntarily participated. Health education intervention about risky driving behaviours was given to the experimental group and nothing was done for the control group. Both groups filled the same questionnaire in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the intervention.  Data were analyzed, and presented as descriptive statistics using SPSS version 21 and T-test was used to test at critical value of 0.05 as the level of significance. Result indicated that 100% of the respondents were males, 40% were within the age bracket of 45-49, 93.3% were Yoruba. The pre intervention knowledge level was assessed using a Likert’s scale, the pre intervention mean knowledge level (15.07) was average and this knowledge mean score increased to 34.20 at posttest.

Findings from the study revealed there was no significant difference in the pre and post knowledge level of the control group. It was also discovered that the knowledge level for each group affected the attitudinal disposition towards risky driving behaviours. Respondents’ knowledge about risky driving behaviors was average, while perception was poor. There was a significant difference between the pre and post knowledge of the experimental group about risky driving behaviours, there was also a significant difference between the knowledge level of the experimental and control groups.

In conclusion, results from this study further validates the effectiveness of implementing health education programs to commercial drivers about indulgence in risky driving behaviours, as a means of warring against the menace of road traffic accidents and its resultant effects. It is therefore recommended that for future planning of intervention, more studies to reduce risky driving behaviours by government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), health care providers and other researcher should be carried out. Also, strict adherence to traffic rules and regulations should be enforced.   

Keywords: Road traffic accidents, Knowledge about risky driving behaviours,

                    Health education training, effectiveness, commercial drivers.

Word Count: 494