INVESTIGATION OF THE OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH NURSING PROFESSION AMONG STAFF NURSES IN ST VINCENT HOSPITAL NDUBIA EBONYI STATE

ABSTRACT The main aim of this study was to investigate the occupational hazards associated with nursing profession among staff nurses in St Vincent Hospital Ndubia Ebonyi State. Three specific objectives guided the study. The respondents used were nurses in St Vincent Hospital Ndubia Ebonyi State and sample technique was used to select 80 respondents for the study. The instrument used for the data collections was a self-developed questionnaire, in the line with the research questions and the relevant literature. Data generated for the study was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages. The findings of the study indicated that majority of the respondents experienced physical and biological hazards such as backache,assault and needle prick injuries while the psycho-social hazards prevalent among the nurses in the hospital were shown to include persistent tiredness due to work related activities, fatigue, loss of sleep due to stress from work, and social effects due to many hours spent at work. Lastly, the level of usage of protective devices showed that majority of the nurses always use protective devices (86.9%) and that most of the nurses knew how to uses the available protective devices (88.9%).The study recommended training seminars and workshops for nurses which should actively include specific and integrated roles for the occupational health department, health and safety committee members, infection control practitioners, managers and front-line workers