Iran Occupational Health

Background and aims: Many antineoplastic agents are known to be carcinogenic and mutagenic. Nurses are the main groups at risk to these drugs. The purpose of this study was to determine of associated factors with safety principles precaution of working with chemotherapeutic agents among nursing staff.

 Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical study. Based on the census method, 59 nurses and healthcare employees working in chemotherapy wards in hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences were recruited in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire to assess self-efficacy, barriers to work, perceived risk, work place safety and nurses' performance. The data were analyzed using SPSS.v19.

 Results: Shortage of protective equipment and lack of time were the most barriers to safety practice and mismatch between the number of nurses and patients and failure to provide the best protective equipment were the most common factors to reduce workplace safety. The results of the analysis suggest significant positive correlation between self-efficacy and safety practice (r=0.34,p=0.007), work place safety and safety practice (r=0.37,p=0.003) and significant negative correlation between barriers to work and safety practice (r=-0.36,p=0.004). There was no significant correlation between perceived risk and safety practice. Hierarchical multiple regressionanalysisshowed that the individual factors and organizational factors explained %12.3, %17.8 of the variance of safety practice respectively. 

 Conclusion: Organizational factors have a major impact on safety practice, therefore to improve the nurses' performance for safety practice remove barriers to work and workplace safety seems to be necessary.