Comparison of the Effects of In-person and Virtual Training on Using Personal Protective Equipment among Workers of an Open Stone Quarry

Training has an important role in decreasing accidents and increasing safety level in workplaces. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of in-person training with that of virtual training on using personal protective equipment among the workers of an open stone quarry.

This study was conducted on 75 workers of an open stone quarry in 2018. The study population was divided into three groups of control, inperson training, and virtual training. The educational content was compiled by the researchers and then confirmed by a group of experts. Data regarding the use of personal protective equipment at workplace were collected by means of a questionnaire both before and after training. Data analysis was performed using the Chi-square test, paired sample t-test, and ANOVA.

The results revealed no significant difference among the research groups before training in terms of using personal protective equipment (P>0.05). However, after training, there was a significant difference among the groups in this regard (P<0.003). Accordingly, the rate of using safety helmet and mask increased in both virtual training (P=0.005 and P=0.0001, respectively) and in-person training (P=0.043 and P=0.0001, respectively) groups as compared to that in the control group (P˂0.05).

The findings of this study showed that in-person and virtual training methods were effective in increasing the adoption of personal protective equipment and safety behaviors. It seems that the use of virtual training as an alternative or complementary method for traditional methods can be an appropriate approach for retraining and improving self-care and safety behavior among the workers of the quarries.