Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to blood cholinesterase level among tobacco farmers in Northern Thailand

Tobacco is one of the crops using a lot of pesticides, especially organophosphate and carbamate pesticides. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and Practices (KAP) related to blood cholinesterase levels related to pesticide use among tobacco farmers. A questionnaire and a reactive-paper finger blood test were completed by 44 tobacco farmers. The results showed that most of the participants were females (75.0%) between 51 and 60 years old (54.5%). Almost 95.5% of respondents acknowledged that they should wear a mask while spraying and most of them read pesticide labels before use (93.2%). Most of the tobacco farmers had moderate level of knowledge and attitudes, 63.6% and 70.5%, respectively and good practice (84.1%). The prevalence of risky levels of blood cholinesterase among tobacco farmers in the study area was high. The study found a strongly significant association between level of knowledge and blood cholinesterase level (P < 0.001). Policy implementation and risk communication will be introduced to the community in order to develop a safety program. Government authorities should be provided with the appropriate recommendations regarding pesticide exposure of tobacco farmers in this area.