Physical hazard safety awareness among healthcare workers in Tanta university hospitals, Egypt

Abstract

Hospital workers are exposed to many occupational hazards that may threaten their health and safety. Physical hazards encountered in hospital working environment include temperature, illumination, noise, electrical injuries, and radiation. To assess the awareness of healthcare workers (HCWs) about physical hazards in Tanta university hospitals, this cross-sectional study included 401 HCWs (physicians, nurses, technicians, and workers) from seven departments (general surgery, orthopedics, radiology, ophthalmology, kitchen, incinerator, and laundry). Data were collected through interview questionnaire to assess six types of physical hazards (noise, electric hazards, temperature, radiation, fire, and lighting,). Most of the physicians (63.7%) were aware of the level of noise. All physicians, nurses, technicians, and majority of workers reported that hearing protective devices were not available, and all HCWs reported that periodic hearing examination was not performed. Most of the nurses (75.2%) and workers (68.5%) did not attended emergency training, and more than two thirds of all HCWs were not briefed about emergency evacuation. Most HCWs were not given appropriate radiation safety training before starting work (88% of workers, 73.7% of nurses, 65.7% of physicians, and 68.3% of technicians). The majority of physicians, nurses, and technicians (70.5, 65.4, and 53.7%) denied regular environmental monitoring for radiation level inside work place. Health education programs on health and safety issues regarding physical hazards should be mandatory to all healthcare workers to improve their awareness and protect them from undue exposures they may face due to lack of adequate awareness and knowledge. There is urgent need of expanding the occupational healthcare services in Egypt to cover all the employees as indicated by the international recommendations and the Egyptian Constitution, legislation, and community necessity.

An assessment of fire safety measures in healthcare facilities in Nigeria

“…Healthcare facilities are environments built for managing people with health challenges but can sometimes create hazards if not well managed. El—Salamy et al (2018) affirmed that hospital environment can sometimes generate irritating sounds with an adverse effect on healthcare staffers and more than one-half of the respondents had poor understanding concerning fire hazards in an hospital environment. This collaborated with Jalali et al (2016) where the healthcare staffers understanding concerning fires and its prevention has been lower than the average limit.…”

“…This collaborated with Jalali et al (2016) where the healthcare staffers understanding concerning fires and its prevention has been lower than the average limit. El—Salamy et al (2018) recommended that hospital management should always inform staffers concerning the hazards associated with hospital environment and encourage workers via the provision of adequate personal protective equipment. In Nigeria, Manuel et al .…”

Evaluation of Sensitization Program on Occupational Health Hazards for Nursing and Allied Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Health Care Setting

“…Myths or fears can cause wrong practices/avoidance of certain work practices; on the other hand, overconfidence due to ignorance may lead to unnecessary injury or exposure to hazards. It has also been seen in the past that HCWs are aware of their lack of knowledge and information about occupational hazards and realize the need for training and awareness ( 20 ).…”

Health Hazards at Work Place: Application of WHO Modal with Literature Review

“…These hazards are very common at work place. There are many reasons for the occurrence of the hazards like most of the nurses and technicians reported that some time protective devices are not available in the department, some time worker not aware how to deal with protective devices in emergency situation [9]. As a leader provide electrical devices for patient shifting.…”