Factors Affecting Occupational Hazards among Operating Room Personnel at Hospitals Affiliated in Western Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Occupational hazards are among the major health problems worldwide, and there is the possibility of occurrence of accidents in all workplaces. Hospitals are one of the most vulnerable places in this regard. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate factors affecting occupational hazards among operating room personnel at hospitals affiliated to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2018. In this descriptive-analytic research, 435 operating room personnel at hospitals affiliated to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences were chosen selected through quota sampling and studied in 2018. The data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire, the first part containing the demographic information, and the second part consisting of 29 questions relating to occupational hazards. For data analysis, descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and independent t-test) and SPSS statistical software version 23.0 were employed. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. The level of occupational hazards was evaluated as high, with a mean and standard deviation of 3.12 ± 0.45. Among the dimensions of occupational hazards, ergonomic and biological hazards were reported as the most and least important occupational hazards (3.22 ± 0.71 and 3.04 ± 0.64, respectively). Moreover, the mean of the total score of occupational hazards significantly correlated with each of the variables of age, marital status, education, work experience, organizational position, shifts, employment status and hospital, but not for gender (p < 0.05). The results of the present study demonstrated that the most significant occupational injuries among the operating room personnel under study were the result of ergonomic hazards. Therefore, given the factors affecting the increase of these injuries, it is highly recommended that a committee be formed by the operating room personnel to eliminate these harmful aspects to determine occupational injuries in hospitals with the aim of changing the working conditions and environment and, finally, developing health promotion programs towards creating a safe working environment in operating rooms.