At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational Study
Background: The operating room setting has unique workforce hazards and extremely high ergonomic demands due to patient lifting/positioning requirements, long periods of standing, and the heavy equipment and supplies that are needed for surgical procedures. Despite worker safety policies, injuries a...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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Series: | Healthcare |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/5/698 |
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author | Susan Letvak Brandi Apple Marjorie Jenkins Carrie Doss Thomas P. McCoy |
author_facet | Susan Letvak Brandi Apple Marjorie Jenkins Carrie Doss Thomas P. McCoy |
author_sort | Susan Letvak |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Background: The operating room setting has unique workforce hazards and extremely high ergonomic demands due to patient lifting/positioning requirements, long periods of standing, and the heavy equipment and supplies that are needed for surgical procedures. Despite worker safety policies, injuries among registered nurses are increasing. Most of the research on the ergonomic safety of nurses is conducted utilizing survey methodology, which may not provide accurate data. It is imperative to understand the at-risk safety behaviors that perioperative nurses face if we are to design interventions to prevent injury. Methods: Two perioperative nurses were directly observed during 60 different operating room surgical procedures (<i>n</i> = 120 different nurses). Data were collected utilizing the job safety behavioral observation process (JBSO), which is designed specifically for the operating room environment. Results: There were 82 total at-risk behaviors observed amongst the 120 perioperative nurses. More specifically, 13 (11%) of the surgical procedures had at least one perioperative nurse observed in a position of at-risk behavior, and a total of 15 (12.5%) individual perioperative nurses performed at least one at-risk behavior. Conclusion: More attention must be placed on the safety of the perioperative nurse if we are to retain a healthy, productive workforce to provide the highest quality patient care. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:24:58Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-d3d8dc531327401a8dcdb8f234c8b39b |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2227-9032 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:24:58Z |
publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Healthcare |
spelling | doaj.art-d3d8dc531327401a8dcdb8f234c8b39b2023-11-17T07:43:21ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-02-0111569810.3390/healthcare11050698At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational StudySusan Letvak0Brandi Apple1Marjorie Jenkins2Carrie Doss3Thomas P. McCoy4Adult Health Nursing Department, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27215, USAChapel Hill School of Nursing, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27215, USACone Health System, Greensboro, NC 26170, USAAdult Health Nursing Department, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27215, USAAdult Health Nursing Department, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27215, USABackground: The operating room setting has unique workforce hazards and extremely high ergonomic demands due to patient lifting/positioning requirements, long periods of standing, and the heavy equipment and supplies that are needed for surgical procedures. Despite worker safety policies, injuries among registered nurses are increasing. Most of the research on the ergonomic safety of nurses is conducted utilizing survey methodology, which may not provide accurate data. It is imperative to understand the at-risk safety behaviors that perioperative nurses face if we are to design interventions to prevent injury. Methods: Two perioperative nurses were directly observed during 60 different operating room surgical procedures (<i>n</i> = 120 different nurses). Data were collected utilizing the job safety behavioral observation process (JBSO), which is designed specifically for the operating room environment. Results: There were 82 total at-risk behaviors observed amongst the 120 perioperative nurses. More specifically, 13 (11%) of the surgical procedures had at least one perioperative nurse observed in a position of at-risk behavior, and a total of 15 (12.5%) individual perioperative nurses performed at least one at-risk behavior. Conclusion: More attention must be placed on the safety of the perioperative nurse if we are to retain a healthy, productive workforce to provide the highest quality patient care.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/5/698perioperative settingat risk safety factorsobservational study |
spellingShingle | Susan Letvak Brandi Apple Marjorie Jenkins Carrie Doss Thomas P. McCoy At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational Study Healthcare perioperative setting at risk safety factors observational study |
title | At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational Study |
title_full | At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational Study |
title_fullStr | At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational Study |
title_full_unstemmed | At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational Study |
title_short | At Risk Safety Behaviors of the Perioperative Nursing Team: A Direct Observational Study |
title_sort | at risk safety behaviors of the perioperative nursing team a direct observational study |
topic | perioperative setting at risk safety factors observational study |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/5/698 |
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