Socio-Demographic Variables as Correlates of Operating Theatre Environmental Hazards among Anesthesia Practitioners and Perioperative Nurses in Tertiary Hospitals in Ogun State Nigeria

Abstract:

The operating theatre environment consists of various hazards. Exposure to these hazards has detrimental effects on the health and the professional practice of the operating theater personnel. This study investigated the correlation between the Socio-demographic variables of the operating theater personnel and the operating theater environmental hazards in the three tertiary hospitals in Ogun State Nigeria. Method: The descriptive correlational research design was adopted in this study. A total population of 108 operating theater personnel who worked in the operating theaters in the three tertiary hospitals in Ogun State at the time of this study was targeted for the study out of which a total number of 102 personnel positively responded and returned their questionnaires. Data were collected using an adapted structured questionnaire by Danjuma et al (2016). Descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages were used to analyze data for socio-demographic variables while inferential statistics of Pearson correlation was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. Results: The study revealed a significant correlation between the operating theater environmental hazards and the gender (p=0.00) and discipline (p=0.00) of the operating theater personnel while it shows no significant correlation with the age (p=0.544). Conclusion: The gender and discipline of the operating theater personnel significantly correlate with the operating theater environmental hazards while the age does not.