Occupational Toxicity and Health Hazards of the Healthcare Providers at Healthcare Facilities in Sulaimani City, Iraq

Abstract


 Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the occupational health hazards that face health care providers in Sulaimani City.
 Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted utilizing quantitative data collection methods. It involved 159 respondents including Physicians, Pharmacists, Medical assistants, Laboratory Instructors and Nurses who worked in 8 major health facilities in Sulaimani city, Kurdistan region, Iraq.
 Results: Nurses were the most susceptible group to sharp related injuries 13.84%, cuts and wounds 10.69% than the others and they were more experiencing verbal abuse in the workplace 15%. Laboratory instructors represent the most exposed group to contaminated specimens/biohazards 17.6% and blood borne pathogens 13.84, while the physicians represent the most prone group to acquire infectious diseases 15.1% and both the physicians and the nurses were equally exposed to airborne diseases 11.32%. Furthermore, physicians were the most group that suffered from work related stress 13.8%; and medical assistants were the most susceptible to radiation 3.1%. Meanwhile, Laboratory instructors were the most exposed group to physical distress 15.1%, falls 5%, unsafe staffing 13.8%, chemical spills 8.8% and noise 5.4%.
 Conclusion: Healthcare providers in these settings experienced various types of occupational hazards in their workplaces, which became a dominant issue among the health care providers. Interventions should be established to alleviate these hazards.

Assessment of Healthcare Workers' Knowledge to Occupational hazards in Some Hospitals of Thi-Qar Governorate /Iraq

“…This could increase the number of graduates working in this profession, as well as the wide range of private business options in the city Regarding the career title of HCWs, it was found that the highest percentage (20.8%) of HCWs were medical assists followed by Pharmacists 18.9%. These results are comparable to previous results in the city of Sulaymaniyah by [16]. This is due to the large number of institutes that graduates medical assistants from different department According to the results of this study, a percentage of 46.5% of health workers have 1-5 year of experience.…”