Abstract
Background and Objective: Occupational hazards among nurses are very high, resulting in increased absenteeism from work, more doctor visits, reduced service delivery, and work disability. A poor safety climate may be one of the causes of workplace injuries. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and causes of occupational accidents, as well as the existing safety climate, in Gorgan teaching hospitals from the nurses' perspective. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted in teaching hospitals in Gorgan, Iran. In total, 267 nurses participated in the study, who were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using valid and reliable questionnaires on the frequency of occupational hazards, causes of occupational hazards, and safety climate, and then analyzed using the Spearman correlation coefficient, as well as the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-wallis test. Results: Regarding physical injuries, 94% of nurses had suffered from musculoskeletal disorders. In addition, 90.3% reported being threatened or verbally and physically assaulted by the patient and attendants. The heavy workload of nurses was the most important and frequent cause of occupational injuries in the nurses’ workplace (61%). The average rating of the existing safety climate was 3.10±0.6, and the safety climate was moderate (3.10±0.6). Occupational hazards were negatively and weakly, yet significantly, correlated with the overall rating of the safety climate and all its dimensions (P-value<0.05), indicating that as occupational hazards increase, the safety climate and all its dimensions decrease. Conclusion: A high percentage of nurses reported work-related physical and psychological injuries, and the safety climate among them was relatively moderate. To reduce the number of physical injuries, nurse leaders need to address injury prevention methods to manage this problem. To improve the safety situation, in addition to corrective control measures, training on safety issues and the regulation of rest hours should be conducted in hospital departments for all employees.
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