Abstract
ABSTRACT Objective: to identify the risk perception of workers with previous occupational accidents in Mobile Emergency Care Services. Method: this quantitative and analytical study with a cross-sectional design was conducted with 265 professionals working in pre-hospital settings from 57 cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. An online questionnaire addressed sociodemographic characteristics, previous occupational accidents and the workers’ occupational risk perceptions rated on a five-point Likert scale. The analysis included descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviation, median, and associations were verified using the Mann-Whitney test; the level of significance was established at p<0.05. Results: the occupational risks the workers more frequently reported were: exposure to blood (4.43); exposure to contaminated secretion/excretion (4.36); contact and handling of hygienization products (4.28); exposure to bacteria (4.25); lifting and transporting heavy loads (4.25); and exposure to viruses (4.23). A significant association was found between the risk perception of workers with previous occupational accidents and chemical (p=0.001), physical (p=0.006), ergonomic or psychological (p=0.000) risks, and accidents (p=0.000). Conclusion: association between the risk perception of workers who had previously experienced occupational accidents was significant, suggesting that workers may not identify or trivialize risks before they experience an accident. Therefore, actions are needed to encourage changes in behavior so that workers identify risks and prevent occupational accidents, such as adopting personal and collective protective equipment and improving the work conditions in pre-hospital settings.
Highlights
In Brazil, the Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (SAMU) [Mobile Emergency Care Service] is intended to provide urgent or emergency care to the population to avoid suffering, sequelae, or even death
The SAMU 192 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul provides care to 262 cities distributed according to the regulation centers: State Central, which serves 139 bases that correspond to 243 cities; the Pelotas Regional Central, which serves 11 bases in 11 cities; Bagé Regional Central, responsible for five bases and five cities; Caxias do Sul Regional Central, which serves two bases in two cities; and Porto Alegre Municipal Central, which exclusively serves the city of Porto Alegre
A statistically significant association was found between sex and occupational risk perception concerning the handling and contact with medications and solutions (p=0.021), exposure to vibration (p=0.021), anxiety (p=0.006), psychological exhaustion (p=0.012), physical exhaustion (p=0.045), accidents with electricity (p=0.032), risk of fire and explosion (p=0.012), accidents with animals (p=0.026), and traffic accidents (p=0.025)
Summary
In Brazil, the Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (SAMU) [Mobile Emergency Care Service] is intended to provide urgent or emergency care to the population to avoid suffering, sequelae, or even death. This service accesses victims in the most different sites such as homes, workplaces, and public roads to provide pre-hospital care.. The specificities of the care provided by health workers in pre-hospital settings expose them to various risks that contribute to illnesses, occupational accidents, and even death.. SAMU workers are more frequently exposed to occupational risks than those in hospital settings because their work processes involves providing care to victims at different locations and under the most varied circumstances. Workers are frequently subject to physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, or psychosocial risks and accidents while providing direct and indirect care to patients.
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