HEALTH HAZARDS AND WORK SAFETY MEASURES AMONGST NURSES IN HOSPITAL SETTINGS

Author Name: 1. Jyoti 2. Bhawna Arora 3. Dr. P.S. Sarangi

Volume/Issue: 02/11

Country: India

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: https://www.doi-ds.org/doilink/05.2022-26199487/UIJIR

Affiliation:

1. Nursing Officer, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Hari Nagar, New Delhi, India
2. Nursing Officer, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Hari Nagar, New Delhi, India
3. M.S. General Surgery & Allied, Head of Department, General Surgery, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Hari Nagar, New Delhi, India

ABSTRACT

Nurses are universally considered as critical components of the healthcare system and work in a variety of healthcare setups. Health care employees, particularly nurses, encounter a number of health hazards as a part of their jobs. An exploratory descriptive study was done on types of health hazards and work safety measures amongst nurses in selected hospital of Delhi. Objectives of the study were 1) Identify the types of health hazards amongst nurses 2) Assess the awareness and compliance of safety measures amongst nurses. The Quantitative research approach with exploratory descriptive study was used. Sample comprised of total 242 nurses selected by convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire was developed for data collection. Nurses encounter various health hazards in healthcare settings with the most prevalent being physical hazards including 146(60%) backaches and 114(47.11%) frequent headaches Injuries/ exposure at work such as exposure to workplace violence 146(60.33%), needle stick injuries 126(52.07%) and spillage of body fluids 116(47.93%). Disease due to exposure of patients 42(17.36%). Physiological challenges from work related hazards including persistent tiredness144(59.50%) & loss of sleep 104 (42.98%) Nurses encounter various health hazards in healthcare settings. Present study depicted that the components connected to awareness and compliance with safety measures always have room for improvement, it is advised that proper training and a safety culture be developed in health care settings.

Key words: Health Hazards, Work Safety Measures