Examination of occupational safety levels of healthcare professionals: A university hospital case

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to achieve occupational safety, to minimize the possibility of accidents in the workplace, to eliminate the work-related health problems, and to take precautions in the jobs that may cause occupational disease. In terms of a workplace hazard class, the health and safety of employees in hospitals in the “very dangerous” group are very important. This study aims to examine healthcare professionals' perceptions of occupational safety and practices for occupational safety. Material and Method: This research is a descriptive study conducted between 31 July and 31 August 2019 with 221 healthcare workers working in the health practice and research hospital of a state university serving in the Aegean Region. In the study, a survey form containing demographic questions and the “Occupational Safety Scale for Health Personnel Working in Hospital” was used as a data collection tool. Results: Of the healthcare workers participating in the study, 82.4% of them stated that they received occupational health and safety training, 74.7% of them stated that they did not have any occupational accident throughout their working life, and 42.1% of them stated that they experienced a near-miss. Employees who had work accidents were often found to have suffered sharp object injuries, contact with blood or body fluids, and accidents caused by falls. The lowest average on the scale is in the “Occupational Diseases and Complaints” sub-dimension, while the highest average is in the “Health Screening and Recording Systems” sub-dimension. In addition, the mean of the scale was calculated as 2.85±0.84 and the total score of the scale as 128.47±38.18. Conclusions: The research that is performed for the examination of the level of perceived occupational safety and occupational safety practices of healthcare professionals, it was concluded that the total and the average score of the scale was in low level, employees' perceptions of occupational safety did not meet expectations, and that current practices were inadequate towards the occupational safety. © 2021, Nobelmedicus. All rights reserved.