Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Occupational Health and Safety among Health Care Workers in Addis Ababa Tertiary Government Hospitals from April 1, 2024 – October 28, 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: - Occupational safety and health hazards in healthcare facilities play a significant role in the lives of care providers and also contribute toward quality patient care. Occupational Health and safety in the workplace are critical components in healthcare institutions. Unsafe working conditions are among the causes of poor quality of care and burnout. Objectives: - The study was intended at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare professionals to wards occupational health and safety (OHS) in selected Addis Ababa tertiary hospitals. Methodology: - Cross-sectional study was conducted among 354 health care workers who work in four selected tertiary government hospital in Addis Ababa from January to March, 2024. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and entered and analyzed using SPSS-27 version. Results were summarized in percentages and presented in tables, figures and texts. Result:-Three hundred fifty four healthcare workers participated in the study with a response rate of 100%. Among these, 70.9%, 56.5% and 49.2% of respondents had high level of knowledge, positive attitude and good practice respectively. Conclusion: - Knowledge, Attitude and Practice investigations provide helpful insight into the level of understanding and utilization of occupational health and safety towards healthcare workers. The finding shows that the overall level of knowledge and attitude was good. However, the practice was relatively low. Recommendation:-Better workplace safety and employee well-being will be ensured by ongoing assessment and modification of OHS programs. Based on the above finding even though the knowledge level and attitude was good the practice was low. So I recommend another study to be done to identify the causal and effect relationship which will give us information on to which area will have to focus to fill this gap.