The relationship between the knowledge level of pre-hospital emergency health services personnel on occupational health and safety and work accidents: The case of Ankara

The most prominent organization within the healthcare sector is the 112 emergency healthcare services. When an unexpected situation arises, the first ones to be called and arrive at the scene are the 112 employees. These workers, who serve from the initial start of an emergency to the point of delivery to the hospital, experience many workplace accidents due to both their working conditions and the environments in which they provide services. If these accidents are not prevented or if individuals are exposed to the same accidents for a long time, they can result in permanent occupational diseases and have a negative effect on the person's occupational health. Therefore, occupational health and safety in 112 emergency healthcare services has become an increasingly important issue that requires more attention. The aim of this study is to measure the level of occupational health and safety knowledge of 112 emergency healthcare services employees, who face many hazards in the field, and to determine the types and frequencies of workplace accidents they experience, and to determine whether there is a relationship between their level of occupational health and safety knowledge and workplace accidents. Based on the results, the study aims to provide suggestions for reducing workplace accidents and increasing occupational health and safety for 112 employees. In this study, a stratified sampling method was used to select a total of 318 personnel from 112 employees in Ankara Province, and a face-to-face survey was conducted using a questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 program, and the frequency and percentage values of the variables were interpreted and reported. A significance level of 0.05 was used in the statistical analyses. The most important result obtained from the study is that although employees have sufficient knowledge about occupational health and safety, the primary cause of workplace accidents they experience is the use of non-ergonomic equipment. The inadequate station conditions are still one of the most significant problems for the personnel.