Abstract
ObjectivesWorkplace health and safety is vital in every organization particularly in the healthcare settings. The aim was to assess the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practices of the healthcare professionals towards safety at Gondar University referral hospital. An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to June 2018. Proportional random sampling technique was used to include 282 study participants and data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20.ResultsAmong 282 study participants, 230 (81.6%), 181 (64.2%), and 162 (57.4%) had adequate knowledge, favorable attitude, and adequate practice scores, respectively. More than half (55.3%) of the study participants were untrained. There was a high (26.6%) prevalence of needlestick injury; however, the use of post-exposure prophylaxis after potential exposures was very limited. Generally, the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice scores among the study participants were low. Therefore, there should be adequate and consistent supply of personal protective devices and other materials used for infection prevention and control. In addition, there should be awareness raising mechanism, including the provision of job aids and periodic training. Further, comprehensive studies should be conducted by including different types and levels of health facilities.
Highlights
Workplace health and safety is a critical element in every organization in the healthcare settings [1]
There should be adequate and consistent supply of personal protective devices and other materials used for infection prevention and control
The current study showed that 81.6% of the study participants had adequate knowledge score regarding safety precautions
Summary
Workplace health and safety is a critical element in every organization in the healthcare settings [1]. Infection is one of the most important challenges in the healthcare facilities worldwide. It constituted the morbidity and mortality among the exposed groups [11]. All individuals HCPs are potentially at high risk of infection due to their frequent exposure to body fluids [12–18]. Hospital-acquired infections are the main problems associated with the healthcare services [20, 21] and currently, more than 1.4 million people are suffering from hospital-acquired infections worldwide and the risk is 2–20 times higher among the developing countries [22–24]. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that about 3 million healthcare workers are exposed to bloodborne viruses each year. About 90% of the infections were occurred in the developing countries [15]
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