Evaluation of Sensitization Program on Occupational Health Hazards for Nursing and Allied Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Health Care Setting

Abstract

Background: Occupational health hazard pertaining to health care providers is one of the neglected areas that need serious attention. Any compromise in their safety would result in reduction in workforce, which may affect patient care, keeping in mind the wide gap between the required number and actual health care workers (HCWs) available in the world over.Aim: This study was undertaken to evaluate the change in knowledge through a sensitization training program on occupational health hazards and vaccination for HCWs.Materials and Methods: Participants of the study included nursing and allied HCWs of a tertiary care health institute in Uttarakhand, India. Multiple training sessions, each of around 180 min, were held periodically in small groups with 20–40 participants over 2 years. Participants were assessed with pretest and posttest questionnaires, and feedback was taken. Questionnaires comprised three categories: general safety and ergonomics, biological hazards, and chemical and radiation hazards. Data of incident reporting for needlestick injury from 2017 to 2019 were retrieved. All data were compiled in Excel sheet and analyzed.Results: A total of 352 participants were included in the study. Mean ± SD for pretest and posttest scores were 5.3 ± 2.13 and 11.22 ± 2.15, respectively. There was considerable improvement in knowledge, which was found to be statistically significant with p-value of 0.001 for all categories. Participants in their feedback suggested for inclusion of psychosocial aspect in further training programs.Conclusion: Low baseline knowledge prior to attending the course highlights a need for an intervention through such structured sensitization program to create awareness and educate HCWs on common occupational health hazards and vaccination. Statistically significant improvement in posttest knowledge highlights effectiveness of the training program. A drastic rise in incident reporting for needlestick injury reflects fairly good impact of training program. Regular and appropriate form of training can reduce injuries resulting from occupational hazards and ensure healthy workforce contributing toward a positive impact on national economy.

Socio-demographic determinants of safety practices among medical radiological workers in Port Harcourt Metropolis of Rivers State

“…Okaro et al (2010) revealed that radiation monitoring and training of radiologists and radiographers provide increasing awareness of safety measures thereby enable the use of protective devices. The result of this finding is in agreement with studies of Naithani et al (2021) that workers who have received training yearly are 5.3 times more likely to be currently educated about the job and comply with protocols of safety in the laboratory. In Nigeria, studies of Salama et al (2016) specified that good proportion of radiation workers (50%) who utilizes safety devices during x-ray proceedings are less likely to be exposed to radiations as compared with others who do not use those devices for safety reasons.…”

“…Adejumo et al (2012) in their study illustrated that workers who have up to five years of work experience are less likelihood to suffer for the effects of occupational hazards and would be able to comply with safety measures. Naithani et al (2021) revealed that work experience helps to improve the level of knowledge of safety measures hence reduce the chance of exposure to occupational hazards. The compliance with safety practices or measure were affected due to work inexperience, non-availability of protective equipment, lack of quarterly training among others.…”

The effects of an educational intervention based on the protection motivation theory on the protective behaviors of emergency ward nurses against occupational hazards: a quasi-experimental study

“…The effect of this program on the knowledge of biological hazards was highest and for the radiation, and chemical hazards were lowest. The participants of the recent study suggested that psychosocial hazards should be added to educational programs [ 29 ]. In the present study, psychosocial hazards were also considered.…”