Assessment of the climate of occupational safety and COVID-19 close contact status in healthcare worker of public institutions

Healthcare workers frequently come into high-risk contact with COVID-19 cases. In other words, they are being in close contact with COVID-19. This study examined the relationship between healthcare workers' close contact with COVID-19 at their workplace and their occupational safety climate perceptions, measured by the Turkish version of the Scandinavian Occupational Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50). In addition, a risk index has established to determine workers' occupational exposure risk to COVID-19. This cross-sectional study, in which the sample was selected from the employee list by simple random sampling method, was conducted among workers of state hospitals/integrated health centers (H/IHC) and district health directorates/community health centers (DHD/CHC) affiliated with Mardin Provincial Health Directorate. The data was collected between September 15 and December 31, 2021, based on workers' self-reports through a questionnaire containing NOSACQ-50 items and questions regarding workers' individual and working life characteristics. Questionnaires filled out by 215 H/IHC staff (38.1%) and 172 DHD/CHC staff (33.3%) were analyzed. Of the participants whose mean age was 32.4±7.1 years and 56.4% were male, 56.2% had a low risk of exposure, and 31.8% were close contacts of COVID-19 at the workplace at least once. The frequency of COVID-19 close contact at the workplace was higher among workers with a negative occupational safety climate perceptions than those with a positive one (22.9%, 36.0%; p=0.011). Logistic regression analysis was performed by including the COVID-19 exposure risk index score calculated through principal component analysis. An increase of one point in the NOSACQ-50 score resulted in a 53.3% (2.1 times) reduction in the likelihood of COVID-19 close contact (p=0.009; 95% CI: 0.264-0.827). During epidemic periods such as COVID-19, studies should carried out to improve healthcare workers' occupational safety climate perceptions.