Risk perception of occupational hazards among dental health care workers in a dental hospital in Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the factors associated with the level of occupational risk perceived by dental health care workers (DHCW), and to define the perceived sources of hazards.


METHODS
Cross-sectional.


METHODS
Izmir Dental Hospital in Turkey.


METHODS
All employees (n = 308) in the hospital.


METHODS
Data were collected by a questionnaire in 2007. Respondents rated their degree of individual risk that could be associated with the procedures they perform on a 10-point scale and listed the hazards they faced. Those with a score > or = 9 were classified as a high-risk perception group. We assessed the relation between variables using chi-square test and logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
Response rate was 90.3%. 57.2% of DHCW had a high-risk perception. Having children, job category and management's commitment to safety were related to the risk perception. DHCW who used preventive measures regularly and experienced an occupational accident in the previous year were 2.29 and 2.77 times more likely to have a high-risk perception. The perceived sources of hazards differed by job category.


CONCLUSIONS
Risk perception is an initial step in developing procedures to minimise occupational risks and occupation specific risk management approaches should be performed.
Ocek
Zeliha
Z
Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey. zeliha.ocek@ege.edu.tr
Soyer
Meral Turk
MT
Aksan
Asli Davas
AD
Hassoy
Hür
H
Manavgat
Selcen Sakaoğlu
SS
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003740:Dental Clinics; D003797:Dental Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D019552:Infection Control, Dental; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012308:Risk Management; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey