Occupational safety perceptions of prehospital emergency health services employees: A sample of Sivas central district

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Prehospital emergency health services ambulance workers are in the risky class in terms of occupational health and safety, and they are faced with more risks due to the fact that they are the first responders to the events, especially regarding COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to determine the occupational risk perceptions of health care workers and their relations with demographic variables. METHODS: A literature review was performed to develop a questionnaire. This questionnaire was used in a survey with 250 respondents. The collected data was analysed through factor analysis. Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated to verify the reliability of the data. RESULTS: The risk perceptions of the employees (Factor 1 and Factor 3) differ significantly according to gender. Another important point is that 60.3% of the participants stated that they “agree” with the statement that health workers “experience violence” during work. CONCLUSION: The risk perception of women was found to be higher, and the reason for this is that women are less physically strong than men along with social gender roles and gender discrimination.