895 Knowledge of and attitudes to occupational health for healthcare workers among thai physicians

Abstract

Objective This study was conducted to determine the current situation regarding the level of knowledge and attitudes towards occupational health(OH) for healthcare workers(HCWs) and related factors among Thai physicians. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2016 to 2017 on physicians who were attending a short course on occupational medicine in Thailand. The data was collected before they studied the topic of OH for HCWs. The self-administered questionnaire was used as a tool to evaluate their knowledge about and attitudes regarding OH for HCWs, accompanying a collection of demographic data and a set of OH for HCWs questions. The test included 16 closed questions including the following 4 aspects, as follows: scope and responsibility of OH for HCWs; OH standard and legislation; occupational hazards in hospitals and prevention and control. The score for correct questions was 1 and the total score was 16. The data was presented in the form of numbers, percentages, mean and standard deviation. All of the variables were categorised into 2 groups and analysed the association by Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test. Results The response rate was 91.12% (154 physicians). The overall mean score was 13.23±1.54 (95% CI: 12.99 to 13.48). The highest to lowest mean score of each aspect were as follows: prevention and control, standards and legislation, occupational hazards, scope and responsibility, respectively. The top five low proportions of knowledge and attitude were the responsibility of OH for HCWs, violence in hospitals, ergonomic problems, OH for HCWs were related to patient safety, the perception of hazards in hospitals, respectively. The statistical significance factors related to corrected OH for HCWs questions, which were as follows: the administrative work was related to the attitude of OH for HCWs in patient safety issues as same as their attitude to this issue about hospital accreditation. Conclusion Most Thai physicians had good knowledge of and a positive attitude towards OH for HCWs. However, there are still some issues, such as OH duties for HCWs, working condition, the risks found in hospitals, and patient safety or hospital accreditation issues related to OH for HCWs needed more emphasis in occupational medicine training among Thai physicians, particularly physicians who work in administrative settings.