TITLE:
Occupational Health and Safety Hazards Experienced by Healthcare Workers at Two Hospitals in Suyani, Bono Region, Ghana
AUTHORS:
Samuel Yaw Opoku, Carlos Yeboah, Sabina Ampon-Wireko, Richard Kwasi Hinneh
KEYWORDS:
Occupational Health and Safety, Healthcare Hazards, Biological Hazards, Non-Biological Hazards, Nurses Safety, Hospital Hazards
JOURNAL NAME:
Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine,
Vol.11 No.2,
May
24,
2023
ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION Occupational safety and health (OSH) is generally the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace. The study sought to assess and evaluate occupational health and safety hazards experienced among health workers in the Bono region of Ghana. METHODOLOGY The study was descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study. Data was from two hundred (200) health workers and was analyzed using the binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The findings from the study show that risk factors associated with biological hazards were clinical staff [OR = 2.487 (1.146 - 5.397), p = 0.021], poor maintenance of hospital items [OR = 0.446 (0.240 - 0.831), p = 0.011], assault (verbal) abuse [OR = 2.581 (1.317 - 5.059), p = 0.006] and extreme pressure from work [OR = 2.975 (1.519 - 5.829), p = 0.001]. Non-biological hazards were associated with being single [OR = 0.499 (0.263 - 0.947), p = 0.034], being verbally assaulted [OR = 3.581 (1.865 - 6.876), p CONCLUSION Risk factors related with biological hazards include poor maintenance of hospital items and extreme pressure from work whereas non-biological hazards were associated with being single, being verbally assaulted. Clinical healthcare providers are more vulnerable to occupational health and safety hazards. The study recommends the provision of strategic policies to promote and protect the workers’ health based on the development of the epidemiological profile of health, needs to be readjusted and strengthened.