Professionals working in operating rooms: A characterization of biological and chemical risks.

BACKGROUND

Health professionals could be at risk of having work-related accidents or health problems. The operating room (OR) is a place where physical, ergonomic, biological, and chemical risks may be present.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to characterize the OR of a hospital regarding occupational risks, particularly biological and chemical. It was also sought to verify if professionals' training about occupational risks has some influence on their safety behaviors.

METHODS

The research method was based on a Questionnaire applied to the 214 professionals working at the operating rooms of a hospital in northern Portugal.

RESULTS

The results revealed the occurrence of 39% (95% CI [29.3%, 50.7%]) of accidents involving biological material, and 12% (95% CI [6.1%, 21.0%]) of accidents involving chemical material. Not all professionals have had training in occupational risks (64% and 47% reported having had training in biological risks and chemical risks, respectively). A non-statistically significant association was found between having had training in biological/chemical risks and having had an accident involving biological/chemical material (Fisher's exact test, p > 0.05). A statistically significant association (X2 = 25.978, df = 3, p < 0.05) was found between the occurrence of accidents involving biological material and the professional category.

CONCLUSIONS

This study allows to characterize the main biological and chemical risks in operating rooms according to the perceptions of professional.