A Study of Occupational Health and Safety Hazards among Stretcher Personnel at Vajira Hospital
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Abstract
This descriptive research aimed to identify occupational health and safety hazards, to study the association between occupational health and safety hazards and work-related injuries and to recommend preventative and control measures among stretcher personnel at Vajira Hospital. The sample consisted of 60 participants with purposive sampling. Data were collected using 2 parts of the interview form developed by the researchers: part 1: the personal information form and part 2: the occupational health and safety risk information form. The content validation with the index of item object congruence (IOC) was .99, and the reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which was .96. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square statistic.
The results revealed that stretcher personnel had the highest ergonomics hazard. The main reason for injuries or pain was over-exertion in lifting the patients 83.30%. In the association test, it was found that for those who over-exertion to lift the patients, the number of people moving with inappropriate and working with the same posture repeatedly were statistically and significantly associated with injuries or pain in the lower back (p-value < .05). Therefore, risk assessments should be conducted to evaluate the risk level of occupational health and safety hazards. Additionally, the occupational health and safety guidelines should be created to ensure that stretcher personnel will work in safe and healthy environments.
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