The relationship between occupational hazards and intention to leave the profession among operating room nurses: A predictive correlational study

Background and aim: Because of the occupational innate of the operating room personnel, they are exposed to various occupational hazards that can cause them to leave their profession and reluctant to continue working, which has a significant impact on the effectiveness of health systems. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between occupational hazards and intention to leave the profession among perioperative and anesthesia nurses.Materials & Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted in operating rooms of hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in ۲۰۱۹. Research population included ۲۵۰ Perioperative and anesthesia nurses selected via stratified random sampling. Data were collected using demographic characteristics questionnaire, a standard occupational hazards (Includes ۲۴ questions in ۴ dimensions of physical, chemical, ergonomic and biological hazards) questionnaire, and an anticipated turnover scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test, independent t-test and Chi-square in SPSS۱۶ software.Results: Based on the study findings, the mean score of occupational hazards in the studied nurses was ۶۲.۷±۱۱.۸ (moderate level) and the mean score of the intention to leave the profession was ۳۴.۷±۵.۲۸ (moderate level). Among the dimensions of occupational hazards, ergonomic hazards (۲۲.۹±۶.۹) and chemical hazards (۱۰.۲±۴.۶) were recognized as the most important and insignificant sources of occupational injuries, respectively. There was a positive and significant correlation between ergonomic (r=۰.۱۸۵, p=۰.۰۳) and biological hazards (r=۰.۱۶۰, p=۰.۰۴۵) with the intention to leave the profession.Conclusion: According to the findings, Managers should strive to adopt appropriate strategies and policies to reduce occupational accidents and consequently the desire to leave the profession in operating room staff and re-engineer operating room departments to reduce ergonomic and biological accidents.

Keywords:

occupational hazards , leave the profession , operating room , nurses