Evaluation of work accidents encountered in Tokat state Hospital

Purpose: Work accidents that occur in the hospital environment endanger the health of many people every year, causing injuries and even deaths. This situation also causes great financial losses. Healthcare workers are exposed to various risks while working in the healthcare sector. This study was conducted to examine the work accidents experienced by healthcare workers at Tokat State Hospital in the last five years. Method: This research is a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted to retrospectively evaluate the work accidents of 253 healthcare professionals working at Tokat State Hospital between 2018 and 2022. In order to collect data, a survey form was used, which was created using the questions in the Accident - Incident Reporting Form, Employees Exposed to Blood and Body Fluids Splash Notification Form, Root Cause Analysis Form and Sharps - Sharps Injuries Notification Forms, which are routinely used in case of work accidents at Tokat State Hospital. These forms belonging to employees who had previous work accidents in the hospital records were examined retrospectively and the data planned to be used in the study were transferred to the survey form. Frequency distributions of demographic and work-related findings of individuals who have had a work accident are shown with descriptive statistics such as number, percentage, minimum, maximum, average and standard deviation Chi square test was used for intergroup comparisons. Statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05. The data obtained in the research were evaluated in a computer environment with the SPSS v27.0 statistical package program. Results: In the research, a total of 253 work accident notification forms were examined between 2018 and 2022. Of the 253 healthcare workers who reported, 68.8% were female and 31.2% were male; It was determined that the average age was 34.22 ±10.07. Of those who reported work accidents, 21.7% had primary education, 16.2% had high school education, 21% had associate degree, and 41.1% had bachelor's degree or higher. According to occupational groups, 43.1% of occupational accidents occur in nurses/midwives, 28.1% in auxiliary services (cleaning personnel, security guards, patient transportation and orientation, medical waste personnel, clinical support personnel), 13% in health technicians (paramedics, emergency personnel), medical technician, anesthesia technician, health officer, pharmacy technician, radiology technician, laboratory technician, operating room technician), 7.9% are interns, 4.7% are doctors and 3.2% are other It was determined that they were from professional groups (administrative personnel, workshop personnel, computer operator, medical secretary, driver). Of those who had a work accident, 19% of them had a professional working period of one year or less, 20.5% had one to four years, 17.8% had five to nine years, and 42.7% had ten years or more. 36% of occupational accidents occurred in internal-surgical services, 18.6% in emergency departments, 14.6% in intensive care units, 10.3% in polyclinics, 7.5% in operating rooms, 4% in hospital gardens, and 3.1% in hospital gardens. laboratory and 5.9% in other (on the road, UMKE training area, patient home, workshop, pharmacy, ambulance, local room, hospital corridor, laundry, morgue, hospital occurred in places such as stairs. 66.8% of work accidents are due to sharp object injuries, 16.2% are due to slip/fall/crash, 4.7% are due to blood-body fluid contamination and 12.3% are due to other (exposure to physical and verbal violence, traffic accident, chemical exposure). , fire extinguisher explosion) occur from work accidents. In 184 of 253 work accidents (72.7%), work accidents occurred with a tool that caused injury. When these tools are examined. 49.5% were syringe tips, 17.9% were intrakets, 12% were lancets, 8.1% were surgical instruments, 6% were iron and 6.5% were other (window, door, glass, light bulb, wheelchair). It was found to be caused by the use of tools. It is seen that there is a body part that was injured in 243 of 253 work accidents and these are; It was determined that it caused injuries to 41.6% left hand, 30.9% right hand, 7% head, 6.2% arm, 4.9% leg, 4.1% foot, 3.7% eye and 1.6% other (waist, back) organs. 15.4% of work accidents occurred in 2018, 19.4% in 2019, 22.9% in 2020, 18.6% in 2021, and 23.7% in 2022. 8.3% of work accidents occur in January, 10.7% in February, 7.1% in March, 7.9% in April, 5.1% in May, 8.3% in June, 7.5% in July, 9.9% in August. 7.5% occurred in September, 10.3% in October, 7.9% in November and 9.5% in December. 62.8% of work accidents occurred between 08:00-16:00, 26.5% between 16-24 hours, and 10.7% between 24-08 hours. Conclusion: As a result of a retrospective examination of the forms reporting work accidents, it was determined that those who had the most work accidents were women, primary school graduates, those working in the nurse/midwife profession and those with 10 years or more of professional experience. The highest number of occupational accidents occur in internal and surgical services, and sharp object injuries occur frequently and are caused by the syringe tip. Work accidents mostly result in injuries to the hands. Although the rate of work accidents varies according to years and months, the majority of them occur between 08:00 and 16:00.