HEALTHCARE WORKERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS IN ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS

Abstract

The existence of hazards in all sectors including health and the health consequences attached requires regular assessment of HCWs perceptions of it.The study investigated healthcare workers’ perceptions of occupational health hazards in Abia State government hospitals. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey approach was adopted. The population comprised 3534 (1503 males, 2031 females) male and female healthcare workers from 485 urban and rural primary and secondary Government hospital in Abia State. A total of 381 (150males and 231 females) male and female health workers randomly selected from 49 urban and rural HCFs in Abia State government hospitals served as research respondents. Researcher’s made, structured and validated questionnaire titled “Healthcare Workers’ Perceptions of Occupational Health Hazards Questionnaire (HCWPOHHQ) was used as instrument for data collection while data analysis was done with mean(X), SD and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) test statistic. Findings revealed that healthcare workers perceptions of physical, emotional and biological health hazards were low in Abia State government hospitals (Physical, X =2.29, emotional X=2.29, and biological X=2.46). Findings also showed that gender is not a factor of variance regarding HCWs’ perceptions of occupational health hazards (P>0.05). The study concludes that in government hospitals in Abia State have negative perceptions of hazards in their line of duties. Based on this, it is recommended that interventions in form of seminars workshops and symposiums by government be organized immediately for healthcare workers in the State in order to sensitize them on the consequences of negative perceptions of hazards while facilities and equipment for clinical services be provided to hospitals in Abia State to protect them in their line of duties.