Assessment of the Knowledge and Risk Perception of Occupational-Stress Among Security Staff of Babcock University

Introduction: Occupational Stress is caused by an existing stress-causing factor or “stressor”. It is a situation in which some characteristics of the work situation are thought to cause poor psychological or physical health, or to cause risk factors making poor health more likely. This study assessed the relationship between risk perception and Knowledge of occupational-stress reduction practices among security staff of selected private universities in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February 2023 in utilizing a pretested 68-item questionnaire(Cronbach’s alpha of 0.96) among 40 randomly selected security staff from two private universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21 with significance level set at p<0.05. Informed consent was sought from all respondents who accepted to participate.
Results: Results indicated that 12 (30.0%) females and 28 (70.3%) males with a mean age of 35.5 ±7.31 years participated in the study. Self-reported perception of risk resulting from poor occupational-stress management practices which was measured on a 57-point aggregated scale, revealed that the participants in this study scored a mean of 18.48 ±6.62 (95% CI: 11.86 - 25.10). Similarly, on a 14-point aggregate scale measuring Knowledge of occupational-stress management practices, the participants scored a mean of 10.00± 2.96 (95% CI: 7.04-12.96).
Conclusion: The findings suggest the knowledge and attitudinal disposition of the participants in this study is sub-optimal and needs serious improvement through well designed cost-effective and targeted health literacy interventions to improve occupational-stress management practices among this population.