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Work environment and hand dermatitis among nurses in a Chinese teaching hospital

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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine Aims and scope

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the working environment on hand dermatitis (HD) prevalence among nurses in a Chinese teaching hospital.

Methods

We utilised a previously validated, self-reporting survey which was translated into Chinese.

Results

The prevalence of HD among nurses was 18.3%, although this rate varied between departments, ranging from 9.4% in gynaecology to 26.7% in intensive care (P for Trend=0.3167). Logistic regression indicated that wet work was the most important HD risk factor, with a 9-fold increase (OR 9.0, 95% CI 1.2–74.9, P=0.0342). Allergic disease was also related to HD, with a 4.6-fold increase noted (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.4–15.0, P=0.0096).

Conclusions

Overall, the prevalence of HD among Chinese hospital nurses appears to be less than that of their foreign counterparts. Nevertheless, the burden of this disease does seem to vary with respect to depertment of employment within the hospital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hazard Assessment, National Institute of Industrial Health, 6-21-1 Nagao, Tama-Ku, 214-8585, Kawasak, Japan

    Derek R. Smith & Rui-Sheng Wang

  2. Department of Medical Psychology, Third Teaching Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China

    Ning Wei

  3. Fourth Teaching Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China

    Ning Wei & Lin Kang

Authors
  1. Derek R. Smith
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  2. Ning Wei
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  3. Lin Kang
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  4. Rui-Sheng Wang
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Correspondence to Derek R. Smith.

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Smith, D.R., Wei, N., Kang, L. et al. Work environment and hand dermatitis among nurses in a Chinese teaching hospital. Environ Health Prev Med 9, 181–184 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02898099

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02898099

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