RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND PRACTICES OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS REGARDING OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 is a rapidly expanding pandemic caused by a novel human Corona virus. Health care workers (HCWs) are front-line, and they have to know how to protect themselves and their patients from this infection. Aim of Work: To determine the awareness of rights, responsibilities and protective practices regarding occupational health and safety during COVID-19 pandemic among HCWs. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital during May and June 2020 among 132 HCWs using a non-probability convenient sampling method. A questionnaire was developed to investigate the HCWs’ awareness of rights and responsibilities along with their commitments to their role in protective practices regarding OHS during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was developed based on WHO (2020a) guidelines.Descriptive statistics were applied; to determine significance levels, non-parametric Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis procedures were used. All statistical analyses were performed using a significance level of 0.05. Results: The majority of the sample was females (75.8%), non-Saudi (75%), and nurses (65.2%) who had graduated with at least a bachelor’s degree (84.8%); approximately half of them were between 30 and 39 years old (50.8%). The majority of participants were aware of their right (mean 4.88 ± 0.25), responsibilities (mean 4.87± 0.30), and practice measures (mean 4.72 ± 0.34). Female HCWs had significantly higher scores than males on the rights measures (z =-2.15, p =.031), and nurses had significantly higher scores than all other HCWs for rights (mean 4.91 ± 0.22), responsibilities (mean 4.92 ± 0.21), and practices measures (mean 4.82 ± 0.23). HCWs aged 30-39 years had significantly higher scores (p =.028) regarding practice (mean 4.78± 0.32). Conclusion: The findings of the current study revealed a high level of awareness of occupational health and safety by the majority of participants; hospitals should ensure the continuous accessibility of guidelines and the provision of training to workers with continuous mentorship.