Determination of ergonomic risks in surgery by opertaing room workers

This study was carried out with the aim of determining the physical, chemical, biomechanical, psychosocial ergonomic risk factors in the operating room by operating room staff and examining the relationship between these risks and musculoskeletal disorders. The study was conducted at a training and research hospital in the Western Black Sea, a State Hospital in the Western Black Sea, a Training and Research Hospital in the Eastern Black Sea, and by surgeons working in the operating room units of the Eastern Black Sea, surgery assistants, anesthesia specialists, anesthesia assistants, operating room nurses, and anesthesia technicians / technicians (n = 305). The universe of the work has also created a sample of working at the same time, it was reached to 82.29% of universe. The data were collected by the researcher using a data collection form prepared in accordance with the literature review and face-to-face interview technique with the Cornell Musculoskeletal System Discomfort Scale. The data were analyzed with a program package. Continuous variables mean ± standard deviation (minimum and maximum values) and categorical variables were expressed as number and percentage. Differences between categorical variables were analyzed by Chi-square analysis. The value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The 251 operating room staff participated in the study were surgeons (44.22%), anesthetists (29.88%) and nurses (25.89%). It was found that 57.77% (n: 145) of the operating room staff who participated in the study did not have glass / window and natural lighting in the resting room and there was a significant difference between the hospitals (p<0.05). 28.34% of the 251 operating room staff participated in the study didn‟t feel relaxed and rested in their resting rooms, 40.48% of the operating room staff found comforting the TV in their resting rooms and 24.81% of the operating room staff didn‟t even have any resting room. It was observed that 88.84% of the operating room workers were uncomfortable with the heat of the operating rooms which is the one of the physical viii ergonomic factors. According to occupational groups, it was observed that the half of the surgeons (49.49%) sweated very much, the nurses (31.67%) sometimes sweated or felt cold while anesthetists (45.31%) felt cold very much (p<0.05). In our study, it was found that the most anesthetists (91.78%) were employed by surgeons who used scopies, followed by nurses (77.59%) and surgeons (61.82%) and there was a statistically significant difference between occupational groups (p<0.05). In our study, it was determined that 95.21% of the subjects in the scoped chambers did not use the X-ray glasses and 82.19% of the thyroid protectors during the scoping, and the lead apron (80.82%) was the most used as protective equipment. Employees were found to be inadequate to use equipment, not to use suitable lead apron ergonomically and to be at risk for radiation. When the standpoint to screen was evaluated, it was found that 61.83% percent of the operating room workers mostly look the screen with the angle up of 45 degrees which is not ergonomic and the heights of 58.09% percent of used screens are immobilized. It was concluded that the nurses participated in this study had pain in their neck due to the fact that they are 12 cm smaller than the surgeons, 7 cm smaller than anesthetists and the used screens are immobilized. When " which posture, one of the biomechanical ergonomis factors, was used by the operating room workers while they were standing on foot?" was analysed, it was determined that the operating room workers (45.02%) mostly used the posture of asymmetrical standing on one foot. The ones who work in the feet symmetrical posture position at shoulder height which is ergonomic were seen to have less pain than other positions, which is in neck (p> 0.05), shoulder (p<0.05), back (p> 0.05), waist (p> 0.05), arm (p<0.05), hip (p>0.05), leg (p<0.05), knee (p<0.05), calf (p<0.05) and foot (p<0.05). When the working heights of the operating room workers were examined in our study, it was found that most of them (77.30%) used the ergonomic waist-hip height and there was no significant difference between the occupational groups (p> 0.05). The ones who work at the height between the waist and hip) were found to feel less pain than other working heights for the one in neck (p<0.05), shoulder (p<0.05), back (p ≤0.05), arm (p<0.05), waist (p> 0.05), wrist (p> 0.05), hip (p> 0.05), leg (p<0.05), knee (p<0.05) and calf (p<0.05). ix In the Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire, which we evaluated as 19 body regions, nurses were found to have higher pain in the body part than the anesthetists and surgeons. It was found that the waist region was the most painful region in the surgeons (55.86%) and the anesthetists (62.67%) in the first place, neck (69.23%) in the first place where the operating room nurses had the most pain. The surgery smoke which is one of the chemical risk factors was analysed and it was observed that most of the operating room workers (85.66%) in this study didn‟t have any smoke release system. The waste goses are the other chemical risk factors for the operating room workers and it was observed that the waste gases didn‟t release sufficiently from the most operating room (74.49%) in the study. The numbers of watches and occurences which are psychosocial risk factor during a shift were analysed. It was observed that anesthetists kept watch and took charge in occurences more than the other workers in this study. But they used sit position and they had rest time more than the others. As a result; it was observed that the operating room environment had physical, chemical, psychosocial and biomechanical ergonomic risks in terms of the employees and that the risks in the operating room environment had negative effects especially on the musculoskeletal system. Also ergonomic working environment could be provided to reduce the ergonomic risks for the operating room employees. Key words: Operating room ergonomics, Operating room nursing, Ergonomics, Ergonomic risk, Ergonomic factor