Extent of Knowledge on Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) of Delivery Room Nurses: Basis For Proposed Training Program

The protection of health and safety of health workers contributes to improving productivity, job satisfaction and retention of health workers as well as facilitates the regulatory compliance of health facilities with national laws and regulations on occupational health and safety, bearing in mind the specific working conditions and occupational hazards in the sector. Accordingly, guidelines on occupational safety and health were issued by government agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Health. Unfortunately, however, as to whether health workers are knowledgeable or not on ways to ensure their safety and protect their health as they perform their functions and as to whether they are complying with the guidelines issued to be undocumented and understudied. This descriptive-correlational-developmental study aimed to determine the profile of the nurses in the delivery room and evaluate the extent of their knowledge on occupational safety and health to determine if they need training on the same. It also looked into the relationship between the profile variables of the nurses and the extent of their knowledge on occupational safety and health. Results showed that, in terms of profile, majority of the nurses in the delivery room are 30 to 49 years old which may imply that they have more life experiences related to safety and health, females which affirms the view of Florence Nightingale that nursing is a career best suited for women, singles which may imply that they have time to participate on trainings related with occupational health and safety as they do not have family responsibilities yet, attending more than 3 patients in the delivery room which entails that they have big responsibilities and they therefore need training on occupational safety and health, bachelor’s degree holders which may imply that they may need training on occupational health and safety for their protection as part of continuing professional development, have been practicing as a nurse for 1 to 5 years which implies that they are new in the profession and they may be needing training on occupational safety and health, and have attended more than 3 relevant trainings on occupational safety and health but may need to refresh or update their knowledge in occupational safety and health. Moreover, the nurses in the delivery room are knowledgeable to a great extent on occupational health and safety but not to a very great extent. Accordingly, the nurses interviewed signified the need to enhance and update their knowledge on occupational safety and health. Lastly, the extent of knowledge of the nurses on occupational safety and health is influenced by their age, civil status, nurse to patient ratio, highest educational attainment, length of nursing practice, and, more importantly, by the number of relevant trainings they attended. Thus, the researcher recommends the adoption and implementation of the proposed training program to enhance and update the knowledge of the nurses on occupational safety and health.