Knowledge of Occupational Hazards and their Perceived Effects among Operating Theatre Workers

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Health workers’ attempt to provide quality care, makes them vulnerable to occupational hazards. Hence, the current study was done to assess the knowledge of occupational hazards and their perceived effects among operating theatre workers in the University of Benin teaching hospital, Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the health workers from March to December 2018. The data were collected through a self-structured questionnaire and analyzed by mean, standard deviation, and Chi-square test. RESULTS: It was found that there was high knowledge about the preventive measures and perceived effects of occupational hazards. CONCLUSION: The current study found that the high level of knowledge demonstrated by the participants was at variance with practice. Hence, the health policymakers need to put up measures promoting safety practices, such as the provision of safety equipment, routine training for staff, adequate reinforcement, capacity and capability drilling, and health revenue cycle consultancy services should be institutionalized and made mandatory for all hospitals.