Text in English / The purpose of this research was to investigate occupational health and safety challenges and their impact on health care workers (HCWs) in selected public hospitals from the Gauteng Province, South Africa. Method: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among HCWs in the study sites. A two-staged sampling that include purposive sampling of study sites and census sampling of 2000 HCWs was used. Self-administered questionnaires were used to obtain data from HCWs. In addition, two different checklists were used to conduct retrospective records reviews to assess occupational health and safety (OHS) policy compliance and occupational injuries and diseases occurrence. The SAS Release 9.3 was used to analyse data. The Fischer Exact test and Chi-square were also used to determine the association of variables and P-value was set at <0.05 to indicate significant association. Results: A total of eight public hospitals and 926 (46.3%) HCWs who were all females nurses participated in this survey. Major occupational health hazards reported by the participants include: needle-stick injuries 275 (54.67%), slips trips and falls 67 (13.32%) and splashes 57 (11.33%). The analysis of open-ended responses indicated increased workloads, long hours of work and shift work as the most reported psychosocial hazards among HCWs. The reviewed records indicated that back injuries 22 (4.37%), tuberculosis (TB) 17 (3.38%) and asthmatic reactions 8 (1.59%) were the commonly reported occupational injuries and diseases among the HCWs. The records review also revealed a lack in the conducting of adequate medical surveillance among participants. The results showed poor compliance with the OHS policy and a negative impact of biological and psychosocial hazards on the HCWs. Conclusion: There was a high risk of exposures to biological hazards whilst providing care to patients, thus warranting the implementation of robust preventive measures. As a result, the guidelines were developed to promote the health and safety of HCWs with a view to promoting policy compliance and preventing the occurrence of occupational injuries and diseases as well as their impact among HCWs. / Health Studies / D.Litt et Phil. (Health Studies)

Introduction: Despite being one of the most preventable diseases, TB still remains a serious and largely neglected disease. Nurses as compared to the general population are at greater risk of acquiring nosocomial TB. This study was conducted to describe the perceptions of nurses on the underlying contributory factors that may lead to the spread of TB in the clinics treating TB patients. Methods: Quantitative, non – experimental, descriptive, exploratory and cross sectional design was used. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used. Findings: The key contributory factors identified were insufficient TB training for staff and lack of knowledge on the TB legislative framework and TB policy directives. Conclusion: The findings indicate the need for a comprehensive TB infection prevention and control policy, with associated standards for provision and practice. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Introduction: Despite being one of the most preventable diseases, TB still remains a serious and largely neglected disease. Nurses as compared to the general population are at greater risk of acquiring nosocomial TB. This study was conducted to describe the perceptions of nurses on the underlying contributory factors that may lead to the spread of TB in the clinics treating TB patients. Methods: Quantitative, non – experimental, descriptive, exploratory and cross sectional design was used. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used. Findings: The key contributory factors identified were insufficient TB training for staff and lack of knowledge on the TB legislative framework and TB policy directives. Conclusion: The findings indicate the need for a comprehensive TB infection prevention and control policy, with associated standards for provision and practice. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)