Assessing Knowledge of Occupational Safety Measures among Laboratory Health Workers in Governmental Hospitals in Mosul

Sheet, Najlaa Subhi; Ahmad, Waleed Ghanim

doi:10.33899/mmed.2024.150799.1271

	Assessing Knowledge of Occupational Safety Measures among Laboratory Health Workers in Governmental Hospitals in Mosul
Annals of the College of Medicine, Mosul
Volume 46, Issue 2, December 2024, Pages 244-250 PDF (383.26 K)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.33899/mmed.2024.150799.1271
Authors
Najlaa Subhi Sheet^* ¹; Waleed Ghanim Ahmad²
¹Right Sector of Primary Health Care
²Department of Family & Community Medicine ,College of Medicine ,University Of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq.
Abstract
*Objective:* To assess the knowledge of occupational safety measures among laboratory health workers. *Materials and Methods:* A cross-sectional study designed to achieve the aim of the present study. The questionnaire comprised two sections: section one covered sociodemographic parameters, and section two covered knowledge parameters. *Results:* The study consisted of 400 participants over six months, starting on Nov 3, 2023, and ending on May 3, 2024, and about three-fifths of the participants (59.2%) were females, and around a half of them (51.0%) had a university education. Less than half (45.4%) have less than five years of experience. Nearly two-thirds (68.8%) received the hepatitis B viral vaccine. Overall, the percentage of knowledge assessment regarding occupational hazards ranged from (1.8%) who thought masks were one of the personal protective measures to (90.2%) of participants who believed that blood and body fluid were the most frequent causes of infection. Knowledge assessment regarding accident control measures ranged from (17.8%) who thought that the most common cause of needle stick injury is handling equipment before use, to (86.5%) who believed that immediately washing the eyes with water was the most essential way to reduce the risk of exposure to a chemical substance. Knowledge assessment regarding the availability of emergency safety measures ranged from (12.8%) of the participants who knew the eyewash unit in their lab to (94.8%) who thought that the equipment/ chemical had been appropriately kept after use. *Conclusions:* Despite much academic concentration on this topic, lab staff still have some defects, and lab safety measures should be more frequent clinical training sessions due to their paramount importance.
Keywords
Laboratory; Occupational Safety; Knowledge

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