Acidentes de trabalho envolvendo os olhos: avaliação de riscos ocupacionais com trabalhadores de enfermagem

Abstract

The study aimed at identifying nursing workers who were victims of eye accidents and the type of accident; describing the measures taken and proposing Health Education methods. A descriptive and exploratory study was carried out at a public maternity hospital from September 2002 to January 2003. Data were collected through direct observation of the environment and interviews with workers. Subjects were ten professionals (one nurse, two technicians and seven nursing auxiliaries) who were victims of work accidents involving the eye. The accidents were grouped according to the type of material that caused the trauma: chemical substances (4), medication (3), mechanical trauma (1), scalp (1) and urine (1). The results reveal that hospital workers are vulnerable to labor accidents because the environment presents biological, chemical and physical risks. An important step to prevent the occurrence of new accidents would be the prevention of human mistakes through permanent training and the use of protection glasses.

Eye Accidents In The Work Environment Of Health: An Integrative Review

“…The lighting, temperature, and adequate moisture during the working process reduces the level of stress of the team and, consequently, produces a significant improvement in the eye well-being and better performance in health care [3]. The employer must be aware of the environmental risks in the workplace, through the professional insertion of health in discussions and implementation of changes/improvements in the workplace.…”

“…The main consequences of ocular exposure to various pathogens are irritation, itching, redness, blurred vision, burning, swelling, inflammation, eye pain [3], which may progress to contamination of the palpebral fissure, as viral papilloma and conjunctivitis [9].…”

“…The activities arising from the work process can cause physical and mental damage to workers, because of the often non-use of personal protective equipment and the lack of knowledge about the risks and their control measures [3]. Occupational eye injuries are noteworthy for having little literature related to this issue.…”

Typical occupational accidents with employees of a university hospital in the south of Brazil: epidemiology and prevention

“…In fact, these professionals, especially technicians and auxiliaries, are the ones most involved in severe accidents, due to their increased occupational exposure to potentially infectious body fluids like blood, due to their physical proximity to the patient, typical of the nursing care activity, and interrupted tasks of higienization, medication administration, handling and preparation of surgical instruments after use, handling of contaminated excretions and fomites, hectic rhythm required to perform tasks in time, the way the work is divided and organized, making them more vulnerable to occupational risks and OAs, as well as hazards due to exposure (2,9,(11)(12)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) .…”

Análise de riscos ocupacionais para implantação de melhorias em uma clínica renal

“…Para Junior (2000), é importante minimizar o sofrimento, a morbidade e a mortalidade provocados por doenças e acidentes de trabalho. A educação, no ambiente de trabalho, serve de suporte para que os trabalhadores possam desempenhar suas funções com mais segurança e qualidade, constituindo-se como uma exigência de todos os serviços de assistência à saúde (ALMEIDA et al,2005).…”