Safety Attitudes among Nurses and Its Relation with Occupational Accidents: A Questionnaire Based Survey

Various aspects of work and occupational diversity and the complexity of the nursing profession have a significant impact on the incidence rate of unsafe acts and consequences of accidents. In this regard, safety attitude will have a significant impact on occupational accidents among nursing personnel. The aim of this study was to assess safety attitude among nurses and its relation with occupational accidents among teaching hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 244 nurses in Kerman, Iran in 2015. Tools for gathering data were Demographic and Organizational Questionnaires, Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and Occupational Accidents Questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21 statistical software and descriptive statistics and statistical tests including Pearson correlation, independent t-test and ANOVA. The highest and lowest attitude scores were related to teamwork climate scale (58.9) and perception of management (38%). The stress recognition scale had significant correlations with each of the other scales. Reliability of the questionnaire was high, (α=0.872), and scale reliability ranged from α=0.82 to α=0.908 for the six scales. Chemical splash to eyes, in more than 3 times accident frequencies, had the lowest percentage (1.03%), and exposure to blood or other body fluids, had the highest percentage, (37.11%). There was a significant relationship between exposure to blood or other body fluids and traumatic backache while changing patient’s positions with safety attitude (P