title: Risk perception of occupational hazards among dental health care workers in a dental hospital in Turkey.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey. zeliha.ocek@ege.edu.tr
authors.forename: Zeliha
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ocek
authors.forename: Meral Turk
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Soyer
authors.forename: Asli Davas
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Aksan
authors.forename: Hür
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hassoy
authors.forename: Selcen Sakaoğlu
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Manavgat
mesh_terms: 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