Hygienic approaches to the prevention of occupational diseases among healthcare workers

Abstract

Introduction. Healthcare workers are at a high risk of emotional burnout due to their professional activities associated with constant mental and intellectual stress. The importance of timely diagnosed psychoemotional burnout syndrome (PEBS) determines the need to develop measures for its prevention. Material and methods. We have studied the working conditions, health status of healthcare workers; the indices of relative risk and etiological component of the contribution of work environment and the work process factors to the development of the identified pathology were calculated; the probability of the development of PEBS based on diagnostics of the emotional burnout level according to the method suggested by V.V. Boiko. Results. During occupational activities healthcare workers are exposed to chemical, biological, physical work environment factors, the severity and intensity of the work process. Indices of the work process intensity are assigned to the leading hazardous occupational factor according to which the class of working conditions is determined as hazardous Class 1-3. PEBS, diseases of the musculoskeletal, circulatory, digestive and respiration systems are classified as workrelated ones. An assessment of the possibility of the development of PEBS has shown 35% of the healthcare workers to consider working conditions to be related to PEBS. The dependence of the development of somatic diseases on the presence or absence of PEBS is revealed. Conclusion. The working conditions of healthcare workers are characterized by the impact of a complex of occupational factors, the leading of which is the work process intensity. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, circulatory and respiration systems, psycho-emotional burnout syndrome are classified as work-related diseases with a high degree of conditionality. The criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of preventive measures are the reduction of general, work-related and occupational morbidity, the preservation of psychosomatic well-being, and the prevention of economic damage from temporary and permanent disability.