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Assessment of work-related risks among healthcare workers in rural hospitals of Chirumanzu District, Zimbabwe

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Abstract

The paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the various work-related risks that healthcare workers face in rural hospitals of Chirumanzu District. Descriptive cross sectional design was used for the study to collect data among 109 healthcare workers at Muvonde hospital and 68 healthcare workers at Driefontein Sanatorium hospital. Data was collected using questionnaires, interviews, observations and secondary data sources. Overall, 100% of questionnaire respondents at Muvonde hospital and Driefontein Sanatorium hospital indicated that they are affected with work-related risks such as ergonomic, chemical, physical, psychosocial and biological. Shortage of labour, work-related pressure, shortage of equipment, poor commitment of the management and poor safety training were indicated as the causes of risks within the hospitals. Risks which occur at the hospitals exposes healthcare workers to various injuries and diseases. This causes this paper to discuss measures that are used to manage risks at Driefontein Sanatorium hospital and Muvonde hospital and effectiveness of the measures. Measures raised at the hospitals include safety trainings, recruitment of more healthcare workers and provision of safety equipment are some of the measures raised by healthcare works to manage risks. As a result, interventions must be established in order to alleviate risks. However, established measures should focus mainly on addressing shortage of equipment such as PPE/C, work-related pressure, poor safety trainings and influence the commitment of the management team positively.

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Fig. 1

Source: Authors

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Source: Field Survey (2023)

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Plate 1

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Plate 2

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Source: Field Survey (2023)

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Data availability

The data generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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  1. Department of Geography Environmental Sustainability and Resilience Building, Midlands State University, P. Bag 9055, Gweru, Zimbabwe

    Tapiwa Shabani, Steven Jerie & Takunda Shabani

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  1. Tapiwa Shabani
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Tapiwa Shabani and Takunda Shabani were responsible for coming up with the idea, doing literature search and data analysis under supervision of the Steven Jerie. Tapiwa Shabani and Takunda Shabani developed the final draft and proof read the document and further adjustment were done by Steven Jerie.

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Correspondence to Tapiwa Shabani.

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Shabani, T., Jerie, S. & Shabani, T. Assessment of work-related risks among healthcare workers in rural hospitals of Chirumanzu District, Zimbabwe. Saf. Extreme Environ. 5, 131–148 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42797-023-00075-7

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