A Cross-Sectional Survey on Occupational Blood and Body Fluid Exposure Risk in a Tertiary Hospital in East Malaysia

The Prevalence of Occupational Accidents and the Associated Factors Among Janitorial Staff at a University Teaching Hospital in South Ethiopia

Background

The healthcare industry is widely regarded as a high-risk environment for workers' occupational health and safety. As a result, healthcare workers are constantly exposed to a wide range of hazards, including biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards. Consequently, janitorial staff are the most vulnerable section of the healthcare workforce to occupational injuries when compared to others due to the nature of their work. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the magnitude of occupational accidents and associated factors among Janitorial staff at Dilla University Teaching Hospital.

Methods

This cross-sectional institutional-based study was conducted from August to September 2022 at a University Teaching Hospital in South Ethiopia. A total of 105 janitorial staff were included in the study with a response rate of 93.8%. The data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered using Epi Info version 7.2.5 and exported to IBM SPSS statistics 22 for further cleaning and analysis. The binary logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of occupational accidents and variables with a p-value of <0.05 during the multivariable analysis were considered statistically significant.

Results

The prevalence of occupational accidents is 61% (95% CI: 51.4, 70.5). Of the total study participants, 52 (45.5%) and 33 (31.4%) of the participants had reported that they have experienced chemical splash and needle stick injury, respectively. The age of participants was one of the factors for occupational accidents. The participants who did not receive training were 3 times [AOR=2.9, 95% CI (1.04, 8.02)] more likely exposed. Having good practice was protective against occupational injuries.

Conclusion

The study highlights the high prevalence of occupational accidents, particularly chemical splashes, and needle stick injuries, among janitors in the study settings. The study emphasizes the importance of age, training, awareness, and adherence to infection prevention and control strategies as factors influencing the likelihood of experiencing occupational injuries.

Occupational Disease and Injury in Malaysia: A Thematic Review of Literature from 2016 to 2021

Introduction

Working people are exposed to occupational hazards and are at risk of having occupational disease or injury in a rapidly industrializing country like Malaysia. This study aims to review and summarize the occupational disease and injury in Malaysia from 2016 to 2021.

Methods

This study used PubMed and Scopus databases to conduct a systematic literature search using a set of keywords. The selected records dated from 1 January 2016 to 8 September 2021 were extracted into the Mendeley Desktop and ATLAS.ti 8 software. Systematic screening was conducted by two independent researchers and finalized by the third researcher. Data were coded and grouped according to the themes. The results were presented as the table for descriptive analysis and cross-tabulation between the themes.

Results

A total of 120 records were included in this study. Under the theme of main health problems, the findings showed that mental health, infectious disease, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the top three problems being discussed in the literature for the working people in Malaysia. The findings also showed an increasing trend of mental health problems during pandemic COVID-19 years. In addition, hospital was the highest workplace where the occupational health problems were reported.Discussion/Conclusion. There was substantial work on the mental health problem, infectious diseases, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders as the main health problem among workers in Malaysia in the past five years. The employers must report any occupational health and injury case to the authority and prompt intervention can be initiated.

Preparation and characterization of flexible laminated composites impregnated by TPU/SiO2 for static puncture resistance

At present, people are faceing with the danger of various occupational exposure, resulting in the rapid development of protective composites among which the puncture resistant materials is an essential component. In this article, composites impregnated by TPU/SiO₂ are used to improve static puncture resistance. Different types of TPU and different concentrations of SiO₂ in the impregnation solution are selected. The mechanical and wearing-related properties of composites are systematically explored and analyzed. The results show that static puncture resistance and tensile strength have improved after impregnation. Meanwhile, the composites can still maintain good water-vapour transmission rate. The air permeability, tearing strength, elongation at break and flexibility of the composites decrease slightly. This study provides a novel and feasible strategy to prepare flexible composite with high static puncture resistance as well as excellent wearability which is a desirable candidate as garment accessory or gaket protecting human body from puncture risk.