BAKARE OMOWUNMI QUBRAT

Community Health and Primary Care

At the Community Health And Primary Care department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: Occupational Health - Focusing On The Health Of The Worker

Description: People work in various vocations between 8 - 12 hours per day and even more. During this period, the workers are exposed to a series of hazards in the workplace to which, many of the workers are not aware of. The hazards ranges from physical, chemical, mechanical, psycho-social, ergonomics and biological. Studies have shown that workers are deficient in the knowledge of such hazards which results in untoward health challenges in later life. The need to promote the health and well-being of the workers cannot be over-emphasized. Studies shall be conducted among various categories of workers to identify the gaps in knowledge and safety practices. Research into safety practices in the workplace and appropriate actions to institute occupational health management services in the workplace Findings from such studies shall influence policy directions on the need to prioritize the health of the workforce.

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	FMCPH ()	National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria	2008

Knowledge, Attitude and Safety Practices towards Occupational Hazards among Medical Laboratory Professionals in a Tertiary Health Centre in Lagos, Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Medical laboratory professionals are those who are engaged in the processes and procedures of using chemicals and several materials in the diagnosis of patients ailments. During these processes, the medical laboratory professionals are exposed to a series of occupational hazards on a daily basis due to the nature of their work. Annually, it is estimated that 6,300 people die per day as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases resulting in over 2.3 million deaths. Three million exposures occur per year globally. As a consequence, 37% of Hepatitis B, 39% of Hepatitis C, and 4.4% of HIV in health care workers are due to needle stick injuries. This study sought to determine the knowledge of and attitude towards occupational hazards as well as the safety practices among medical laboratory professionals in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 158 laboratory professionals in LASUTH, Ikeja. Respondents were selected using stratified and proportional sampling technique. Data collection instrument was a pretested, structured, self- administered questionnaire, prepared from previous studies, reviewed literature and other documents on occupational health and safety. The questionnaire consisted of open and closed questions with sections on socio-demographic variables, knowledge of occupational hazards, attitude towards hazards, awareness of safety practices and the commonly used safety precautions as well as the predisposing factors for occupational hazards in the workplace. The findings shall address the gaps in knowledge, attitude and safety practices among the laboratory professionals as well as the factors influencing the safety practices.

BAKARE OMOWUNMI is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Community Health and Primary Care

BAKARE has a FMCPH in from National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria