Occupational Health Hazards among Faculty of Nursing Students in Zagazig University

Abstract

Background: Nursing education involves both theoretical and practical training processes. Clinical training is considered as an indispensable and highly significant component of professional nursing education. Nursing students are exposed to various types of occupational incidents which are biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic and psychological. Aim of the study: was to investigate the occupational health hazards among faculty of nursing students in Zagazig University. Subject and Methods: Research design: a cross sectional descriptive design was used. Setting: faculty of nursing Zagazig University. Subjects: 458 of nursing students were enrolled in the study. Tools of data collection: two tools were used to collect data; Tool I: socio-demographic characteristics of the study Subjects; Tool II: questionnaire sheet was developed by the researcher to identify types & risk factors of occupational health hazards, use of personal protective equipment and the related health problems. Results: of the present study revealed that that the most common hazards the students exposed to were ergonomic (88.8%) and psychological hazards (88.4%), while the lowest was the biological hazards (10.48%). More than half of the students were fully aware of using personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety regulations, the commonly reported health problems was anxiety, regarding musculoskeletal problems, lower back pain was the common moreover, second year students were the highly exposed to all types of hazards. Conclusion: nursing students are exposed to occupational health hazards especially ergonomic and psychological. Being a student in the second year, female student, and from rural area increase this risk. Recommendations: Nursing students must be equipped with adequate knowledge and skills about occupational health hazards, safety measures and personal protective equipment especially before their first field practice.