Author(s): AyÅin AÅKIN, Ayten DÄ°NÃ
The aim of this is to examine the views of 112 emergency medical personnel, who provide the pre-hospital emergency healthcare, regarding occupational health and occupational diseases. Sample of this descriptive study consisted of 204 people who were working at 112 ambulance stations of Provincial Directorate of Health of Çanakkale. The data were collected using a questionnaire prepared by the researcher in line with the literature. Number, percentage distribution, and chi-square test were used to assess the data. In the study, it was determined that 35,8% of the medical personnel were working as paramedics, 29,4% were working as Emergency Medical Technicians, 70% were in the age group of 20 - 30 years, and 40.2% were working for 1-5 years. 94,6% of the participants had routine health screenings and the most common vaccines they had included the Hepatitis B and tetanus vaccines. 60,3% of the participants had complaints of occupational diseases; 58,5% of them reported that they suffered from low back-muscle pain, 18,7% stress, 8,1% varicose vein, and 7,3% sleep disorders and malnutrition. The complaints of occupational diseases were mostly observed in personnel working for 1-5 years (p <0.05). 82,4% of the medical personnel received the in-service training on occupational health and safety. Gloves and masks were the most frequently used personal protective equipment. 66,5% of the personnel thought that the necessary measures for occupational health and safety were taken in the station.The rate of occupational disease complaints among 112 medical personnel was high; rates of routine health screening and personal protective equipment use were not at desired level. Inservice training on occupational health and safety should be attached importance.
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