Exploration of nurses’ knowledge regarding occupational hazards and Hepatitis B

Occupational hazards and infections of hepatitis B virus consist the most common dangers that health professionals face in their daily clinical practice. Purpose: The aim of the present research study was to explore health professional’s information regarding occupational hazards and infections of hepatitis B virus, as well as the the existence and apply of safety practice guidelines in their daily clinical practice. Method and material: The sample study included 454 nurses that were working in hospitals of private sector in Athens. Collection of data was performed by the completion of a specifically designed questionnaire for the needs of the research. Analysis of data was performed using the SPSS 16 statistical package and the method Χ2 and t-test was applied for the statistical process. Results: From the 159 nurses studied, percentage of 13% was men and 87% women. Regarding demographic variables, the average age of the participants was 31±5 years, regarding marital status, 60% was married, 37% not married and 3% divorced and finally regarding educational background, 42% of the studied population was of basic education and 44% of other technical school. The average time of work in hospital was 7,6 years. 94% of the sample study declared informed about occupational hazards and 87% declared informed about risks of exposure to Hepatitis B. Regarding the nurses’ source of information, in percentage of 46% was the responsible hospital service and followed bibliography 44%, lectures/speeches 27%, scientific conventions 23%, information leaflets distributed in hospital 22%, Mass Media 20%, the continuing training programs 13% and last of all the internet 15%. Regarding the apply of practice guidelines, 52% of the participants declared that that there was no easy access on the safety protocol and the protocol for facing Hepatitis B exposure in their working area, whereas 28% declared that they are not aware of the existence or not of such a protocol. Conclusions: Although, high percentage of nursing staff was found to be informed about occupational hazards and the risks of exposure to hepatitis B, it is of bounden duty to be established the construction and apply of protocols in daily clinical practice.

Keywords: Hepatitis Β, information, nurses, exposure protocols