Knowledge Regarding Occupational Health Hazards Among Nurses in a Government Hospital, Chitwan

Abstract

Title: "Knowledge regarding Occupational Health Hazards among Nurses in a Government Hospital, Chitwan." Objective: To find out the knowledge regarding occupational health hazards among nurses. Background: Occupational health is essential preventive medicine. Occupation health should aim at the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations. Nurses are exposed to high levels of occupational hazards. Occupational hazards include: Physical, mechanical, biological, chemical and psychosocial hazards. The causes of occupational health hazards are lack of knowledge, lack of protective measure, negligence etc. These hazards are prevented by engineering control, administrative control such as training, work allocation, monitoring risks, health education, immunization and personnel protection. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. Total 50 nurses were selected by using non probability purposive sampling method from indoor department of Bharatpur Government Hospital Chitwan. Self-administered questionnaire was developed to collect the data. Result: Study result shows that most of the respondents were age of 20-29 years. Mean age of the respondent was 23.78 with 6.05 standard deviation. Almost all of the respondents were female and had PCL Nursing education. Mean work experience was 3.94 years with standard deviation 5.57. Result shows that majority of the respondents were not exposed to mass media regarding occupational health hazards. Majority of the respondents were not suffered from occupational health hazard. More than three- fourth of the respondents were respond for lack of protective measure and increased workload as the causes. Cent percent of the respondents respond physical hazards as a type of occupational health hazards as well. It is also found that 66% of the respondents had moderate knowledge regarding occupational health hazards,22% had inadequate knowledge and 12% had adequate knowledge. iiiConclusion: It is concluded that majority of the respondents were not suffered from occupational health hazards.Least of the respondents had adequate knowledge knowledge. Majority of the respondents respond exposure to physical, chemical, mechanical, biological and psychological agents as the meaning of occupational health hazards. Majority of the respondents answered lack of protective measure as a cause of occupational health hazard. Less than half of the respondents answered safe patient handling is the preventive measure of mechanical health hazards. Key Words: Knowledge, Occupational Health Hazards, Nurse.