Awareness among Healthcare Workers regarding Physical Hazards in Dental and Oral Hospitals of Semarang, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: The hospital is a workplace that holds a potential risk of occupational diseases and work accidents for its workers. Physical factors are one of the factors that need to be properly evaluated to control these hazards. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the factors related to knowledge and awareness of physical hazards in the workplace. Methods: In this study, correlation analysis has been conducted using chi-square, and a cross-sectional design has been employed involving a sample of 200 workers from oral and dental hospitals in Semarang. This study has used several samples. The instrument used in this study has been a modification of the Victorian Trades Hall Council and Workplace Safety and Health Risk Management. The independent variables included in this study were individual characteristics, and physical hazards were taken as the dependent variable. A computer program was used for inputting, scoring, and tabulating the data, while the correlation was tested using chi-square. Results: The respondents in this study had a good level of knowledge of physical hazards, with 67% of knowledge accounting for the hazard of noise, 50% for the physical hazard of electricity and equipment, 51% for fire hazards, 63.5% for the physical hazard of exposure to lighting, 71.5% for the physical hazard of exposure to heat, 65% for the physical hazard of exposure to radiation, and 41.5% for the physical hazard of vibration. The years of service of the respondents accounted for a p-value of 0.045. Conclusion: The level of awareness of safety against physical hazards among workers in the studied hospitals has been found to be at an optimal level.