Occupational Hazards among Hospital Laundry Workers at Ismailia City, Egypt

Sara Mohamed Hesham Abd El-Wahed^1, , Salwa Abbas Ali², Heba Al-kotb Mohamed³ and Hanaa Kassem Farg³

¹Demonstrator of Family and Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Suez Canal University, Egypt

²Family and Community Health Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt

³Family and Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Suez Canal University, Egypt

Cite this paper:
Sara Mohamed Hesham Abd El-Wahed, Salwa Abbas Ali, Heba Al-kotb Mohamed and Hanaa Kassem Farg. Occupational Hazards among Hospital Laundry Workers at Ismailia City, Egypt. American Journal of Nursing Research. 2020; 8(4):471-476. doi: 10.12691/ajnr-8-4-7

Abstract

Background: hospital laundry workers are widely exposed to various occupational hazards due to the unique characteristics of their work environment. Aim of the study: this study aimed to assess occupational hazards among hospital laundry workers at Ismailia city. Design: Descriptive design was utilized in this study. Setting: this study conducted at seven governmental hospitals at Ismailia city. Sample: all hospital laundry workers (159) in the previous settings were included in this study. Tools of data collection: structured interview questionnaire included questions about socio-demographic characteristics and worker’s exposure to different occupational hazards. Results: 95%, 95%, 92.5% and 91.2% of the studied sample reported presence of open sanitary system, inadequate ventilation, contact with contaminated linen and standing for prolonged periods respectively. More than four fifth of the studied sample exposed to heat, falls or trips, noise and vibration (85.5%, 85.5%, 83% and 83% respectively), while 67.9% exposed to needles and sharp objects followed by 54.1% and 53.5% exposed to bleaching agent and detergents respectively. Conclusion: Most of the studied workers exposed to environmental, physical, biological and ergonomic hazards. Recommendations: Develop educational program and training workshops regarding prevention of workplace hazards emphasizing on the use of personal protective equipment and safety practices for body mechanics.

Keywords:
occupational hazards laundry workers hospital laundry

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Langabeer, j. R., & Helton, J. (2016). Health Care Operations Management: A systems perspectives. 2nd edition, United States of America: Jones and Bartlett learning publication LLC, p.p. 311-312.
[2]	Fontoura, F., Gonçalves, C., &Soares, V. (2016). Hospital laundry working and environment conditions: workers’ perception. Brazilian Journal of Occupational Health, 41, 1-11.
[3]	Nwankwo, C. M., Karanja, S., & Vasanthakaalam, H. (2018). The occurrence of occupational health hazards in districts health facilities in Kigali, Rwanda. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 5(1), 21-29.
[4]	Khapre, M., Naik, S., & Mudey, A. (2015). Study on knowledge and attitude regarding the occupational safety in tertiary care hospital. Int. J. Cur. Res. Rev., 7 (5), 30-33.
[5]	Omoijiade, E. N., & Okareh, O. T. (2018). A comparative study of the common health and safety complaints among laundry workers in secondary and tertiary health facilities in Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology, 12 (5), 1-12.
[6]	Kumar, M. S., Goud, B. R., & Joseph, B. (2014). A study of occupational health and safety measures in the laundry department of a private tertiary care teaching hospital, Bengaluru. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 18(1), 13-20.
[7]	Arcangeli, G., Montalti, M., Sderci, F., Giorgi, G., & Mucci, N. (2019). Risk assessment in an industrial hospital laundry. Proceedings of the 20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2018), 820, 438-445.
[8]	Okareh, O. T. (2018). Bacterial pathogens from bed linen used in secondary and tertiary health facilities in Benin city, Nigeria. Journal of Microbiology & Experimentation, 6 (2), 84-87.
[9]	Ilesanmi, O., Omotoso, B., & Falana, D. (2014). Hazards of Hospital cleaners in a tertiary health facility in Southwest Nigeria. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 4(1), 5-10.
[10]	Manuel, M., Daphnie, L., D’cunha, S., & Suresh, S. (2015). A study to assess awareness on occupational health hazard among laundry workers. Muller Journal of Medical Sciences and Research, 6 (1), 40-44.
[11]	Abdel-Wahed, A., Ghandour, A. A., & Elsaidy, W. H. (2013). Risk assessment of physical health hazards in Al-Azhar University Hospital in New Damietta, Egypt. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 31(914), 1-17.
[12]	Fontoura, F. P., Gonçalves, C.G.O., Lacerda, A. B. M., & Coifman, H. (2014). Noise effects on hospital laundry workers’ hearing. Rev. CEFAC, 16(2), 395-403.
[13]	Omoijiade, E. N. (2018). An assessment of laundry workers exposure to workplace hazards in secondary and tertiary health facilities in Benin-city, Nigeria. MOJ public health, 7 (5), 252-259.
[14]	Izadi, N., & Piruznia, R. (2018). Occupational health hazards among health care workers. Public Health, 2 (1), 1-3.
[15]	Sukumar, S., & Karthiga, V. (2014). A Study on laundry workers attitude towards health care industry in Trichy city. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4 (1), 1-8.
[16]	Lopes, C. M., Scavarda, A. J., de Carvalho, M. N. M., Vaccaro, G., & Korzenowski, A. L. (2019). Analysis of sustainability in hospital laundry: the social, environmental, and economic (Cost) risks. Resources, 8 (37), 1-15.
[17]	Muslim, E., Nurtjahyo, B., & Ardi, R. (2011). Ergonomic analysis of garment industry using posture evaluation index (PEI) in virtual environment. Makara Journal of Technology, 15(1), 75-78.
[18]	Shiferaw, Y., Abebe, T., & Mihret, A. (2012). Sharps injuries and exposure to blood and bloodstained body fluids involving medical waste handlers. Waste Management & Research, 30(12), 1299-1305.
[19]	Mogale, N. M., Malangu, N., & Huma, M. (2015). Occurrence of occupational slips, trips and falls amongst health workers in Limpopo Province of South Africa. Botswana Journal of African Studies, 28(1), 72-80.
[20]	Ribeiro, G., Haddad, A., & Galante, E. (2017). Risk mapping and prioritization—case study in a Brazilian industrial laundry. Occupational Safety and Hygiene, 4, 41-46.