title: The occupational safety of health professionals working at community and family health centers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Healthcare professionals encounter many medical risks while providing healthcare services to individuals and the community. Thus, occupational safety studies are very important in health care organizations. They involve studies performed to establish legal, technical, and medical measures that must be taken to prevent employees from sustaining physical or mental damage because of work hazards.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to determine if the occupational safety of health personnel at community and family health centers (CHC and FHC) has been achieved.
  The population of this cross-sectional study comprised 507 nurses, 199 physicians, and 237 other medical personnel working at a total of 18 family health centers (FHC) and community health centers (CHC) in Trabzon, Turkey. The sample consisted of a total of 418 nurses, 156 physicians, and 123 other medical personnel. Sampling method was not used, and the researchers tried to reach the whole population. Data were gathered with the Occupational Safety Scale (OSS) and a questionnaire regarding demographic characteristics and occupational safety.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to the evaluations of all the medical personnel, the mean ± SD of total score of the OSS was 3.57 ± 0.98; of the OSS's subscales, the mean ± SD of the health screening and registry systems was 2.76 ± 1.44, of occupational diseases and problems was 3.04 ± 1.3 and critical fields control was 3.12 ± 1.62. In addition, occupational safety was found more insufficient by nurses (F = 14.18; P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All healthcare personnel, particularly nurses working in CHCs and FHCs found occupational safety to be insufficient as related to protective and supportive activities.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: Havva
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozturk
authors.affiliation: Education Unit, General Secretariat of the Association of Public Hospitals in Trabzon, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elif
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Babacan
keywords: Community Health; Family Health; Health Personnel; Occupational Safety