Workplace Safety in Hospital Laboratories: Occupational Accidents and Work-Related Diseases

Abstract

Workplace safety in hospital laboratories is crucial for the health and well-being of employees. Dueto the potentially hazardous nature of the chemicals handled, workers are exposed to a variety of risks, rangingfrom occupational accidents to work-related diseases. The main objective of our study was to identify workrelated accidents and occupational diseases associated with exposure to occupational hazards in medical analysislaboratories and to determine preventive measures. Materials and method : The sample for our cross-sectionaldescriptive study consisted of 113 individuals working in the hemobiology, biochemistry, and anatomicalpathology laboratories. A questionnaire was designed to collect data, providing a precise assessment ofoccupational accidents and the risks faced by the employees. Results :18.87% of participants reported havingsuffered a work-related accident, with no significant correlation with gender (p = 0.955) or age (p = 0.133).Among these accidents, 66.7% were of a mechanical nature, including 36.1% involving skin injuries and 21%involving eye injuries. Investigations into the causes revealed that 32.05% of the accidents resulted from a lackof protective measures, 50.76% were attributable to negligence, and 17.23 % were related to emergencysituations. Furthermore, employees working in a fixed daily position are at an increased risk of accidents (p =0.003). Additionally, occupational diseases have also been reported, with 32.29% of participants affected byoccupational allergies and 33.22% by skin sensitizations. Moreover, approximately 14.81% of participantssuffered from respiratory diseases, while 13.15% had eye injuries. Finally, about 6.48 % of participants werediagnosed with occupational cancer. Conclusion : Our study highlighted that occupational accidents have significant consequences on the health of employees, particularly concerning conditions related to exposure to chemical reagents. This underscores the urgent need to improve safety and prevention measures to ensure the protection of workers.