The effect of risks and dangers faced by healthcare professionals within the scope of occupational health and safety on job satisfaction

Planned in the descriptive design for the purpose of determining the effect of risks and dangers faced by healthcare professionals within the scope of occupational health and safety on job satisfaction; the study included 482 healthcare professionals working at Dr. Ersin Arslan Training and Research Hospital between April and July 2017. In order to conduct the study, approvals were received from Gaziantep University Ethics Committee and Public Hospitals Union. The data were collected using Demographic Information Form for Healthcare Professionals, Occupational Safety Scale for Healthcare Personnel Working in Hospital, and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. The data were evaluated using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation, t test and one way anova analysis. Regarding the type of occupational accidents, it was observed that participants were mainly exposed to verbal violence and experienced sleep disorder within the scope of occupational diseases. They mostly showed the work load as the main reason of wanting to quit their job. When examining the correlation between Subscales of Occupational Safety and Positions of Healthcare Professionals; a statistically significant difference was observed in the subscale of Occupational Diseases and Complaints (p < 0.05). This difference was caused by doctors. The scores of medical screening and record systems, accidents and intoxications, administrative support and approaches, protective measures and rules and general occupational health among the subscale scores of the Occupational Safety Scale were all found to be higher in the group receiving training in a statistically significant way (p < 0.05). It was observed that doctors had higher levels of internal satisfaction than nurses and other healthcare professionals (3.11 ± 0.7); they also had higher levels of external satisfaction than nurses and other healthcare professionals (3.05 ± 0.6); and they had higher levels of general job satisfaction than nurses and other healthcare professionals (3.09 ± 0.6). There was a positive correlation between subscale scores of occupational safety and scores of job satisfaction scale of healthcare professionals. It should be ensured to inform all healthcare professionals within the scope of occupational health and safety and make them realize the possible risks and dangers. It is particularly required to provide equal training to all healthcare professionals, develop health policies ideally, and keep their job satisfaction at maximum. Keywords: Healthcare Professionals, Job Satisfaction, Occupational Health, Occupational Safety