Abstract:
Nurses are the front line of risks and victims of occupational hazards
among healthcare professionals. These hazards may affect the well-being of the
nurses. A thorough understanding of occupational hazards helps promote a safer
workplace among nurses.
Objectives: This study assesses the knowledge of occupational hazards and
associated socio-demographic factors among nurses at Teaching Hospital Jaffna.
Methodology: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 370
nurses at Teaching Hospital Jaffna. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethical
Review Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna. A stratified random
sampling method was used to select samples based on the population proportion of
the nurses in wards/units/clinics. A pre-tested and validated self-administered
questionnaire was used to collect the data regarding five types of occupational
hazards. The data were analyzed, and the Pearson chi-square test was used to find the
association between the level of knowledge and socio-demographic factors by using
IBM SPSS 20.
Results: The response rate was 90.24%. The age range of the participants was 25-46
years. The mean age of the participants was 31.65 (SD±4.943) years. More than half
of them were single (67.3%). Three-fourths of the participants completed a diploma
in nursing (75.4%); meanwhile, 24.3% of them got BSc in nursing. The majority had
working experience of less than five years (61.6%). Nearly half of them are working
in units (51.1%).
Around 84.3% of them had good knowledge, respectively moderate and poor
knowledge percentages were 14.3% and 1.4%. The mean score for the knowledge
was 18.24 (SD ±2.952) out of a total score of 20. Age (0.001), working experience
(0.031), marital status (0.009), and educational qualification (0.044) showed a
statistically significant association with the level of knowledge regarding
occupational hazards.
Conclusion: Even though, majority of them have a good knowledge level, providing
an in-service training program regarding occupational hazards can improve the
knowledge level further.
