Locational pattern of health risk behaviors in oil servicing companies in the Niger Delta Region

Godspower Imiete, Olarenwaju Lawal and Meelu Bari Barinua Tsaro Kpang *

Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
 
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2022, 14(01), 063–074
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2022.14.1.0262
 
Publication history: 
Received on 18 February 2022; revised on 26 March 2022; accepted on 28 March 2022
 
Abstract: 
This study examined the perception of health risk behaviors of employees in oil servicing companies in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. Three Hundred and Ninety Five copies of structured questionnaires were designed and administered to the workers of the selected oil servicing companies to elicit information. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied for the analysis. Findings revealed that majority (58.5%) of the individuals believed that diet high in calories, fat, sodium and low in nutrient is good. Smoking was perceived by majority (84.2%) as a villain in the society while 89% subscribed to the fact that consumption of fruits and vegetables are essential for healthy living. Despite the fact that smoking was not practiced by the majority (68.3%), yet 85.4% of the smokers enjoyed smoking daily and more than 55% of respondents take minimum of 5 sticks of cigarette per day. For satisfaction purpose, most of the respondents liked mating their friends and sex partners without any protective measures and this is clear as findings revealed that 80.5% are not satisfied physically and psychologically using condom during sexual intercourse. The dominating health risk behaviors in the area are alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, and tobacco use and diabetes/high blood sugar. Furthermore, the analysis shows that there is a significant variation in the perception of employees’ in relation to health risk behaviors (F=233.061, p<0.05). The study recommended among others that the attitude of alcohol intake and smoking should be moderated or totally discouraged among the workers of oil servicing companies in the Niger Delta through proper counselling and enlightenment of the health implications.

 
Keywords: 
Perception; Locational Pattern; Health Risk Behaviors; Employees; Oil Servicing Companies
 
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