Knowledge levels of prehospital emergency health workers about occupational disease risk factors and influencing factors

Abstract

Introduction: Today, occupational diseases are growing more and more significant. This study aims to determine pre-hospital health workers' degree of awareness regarding the risk factors they can run into related to occupational diseases and the factors that affect them. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The study's sample population consists of 504 pre-hospital emergency medical services employees in Elazig province. The sample group has not been chosen, and the entire population is intended to be reached. The questionnaire consists of 25 questions. Face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire were conducted on a volunteer basis. The rate of participating in the survey was 84.6%. The collected data were entered into a statistical package program. For statistical analysis, Fisher's Exact and Chi-square tests were performed. Results: The participants' average age was 30,61±9,83. Women comprised 59.6% of the workforce, 55.4% of those employed at district health facilities, and 40.9% were paramedics. 90,2% of the participants voluntarily choose the occupation. 93% of workers believed that musculoskeletal illnesses were a danger associated with their line of work. The risk of exposure to violence was the top "stress-generating issue" for 69.6% of workers. Conclusion: The majority of respondents willingly chose the profession. Most frequently, ergonomic issues are considered to be risk factors for employment. Long night shift hours and a misfit night shift coworker are sources of high stress for doctors and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) respectively. It is suggested that health professionals receive more training on occupational diseases, that they become more sensitive to various biological and chemical risk factors, with the exception of common viruses like HBV transmission, and it is recommended to take further action against violence. Keywords: Occupational diseases, health workers, risk factors, emergency medical services, ergonomics