Workplace safety of community nurses

Uvod: Patronažne medicinske sestre so pri svojem delu izpostavljene različnim vrstam nevarnostim. Namen magistrskega dela je raziskati varnost v delovnem okolju patronažnih medicinskih sester pri obravnavi pacientov na domu. Metode: Uporabili smo raziskave mešanih metod, ki vključujejo kvantitativne in kvalitativne metode dela in za katere je značilna filozofija pragmatizma. V kvantitativnem delu so bili podatki zbrani z anketnim vprašalnikom in analizirani z deskriptivno in inferenčno statistiko. V kvalitativnem delu smo uporabili metodo utemeljene teorije, izvedli smo delno strukturirane intervjuje. Rezultati: Mann-Whitneyjev test je pokazal, da obstaja statistično pomembna razlika v zaznavanju nevarnosti v delovnem okolju med patronažnimi medicinskimi sestrami na podeželju in v mestnem okolju samo v segmentu zaznavanja nevarnosti izven pacientovega doma (U = 969,000p = 0,023). Identificirali smo tri kategorije: percepcija varnosti patronažnih medicinskih sester v delovnem okolju, dejavniki, ki vplivajo na varnost, in ukrepi patronažnih medicinskih sester. Razprava in sklep: Delo patronažnih medicinskih sester na terenu je izjemno zahtevno in nevarno. Predlagamo uvedbo posebnega dokumentacijskega obrazca ali programa na nacionalni ravni, ki bi ga patronažne medicinske sestre uporabile za zapis posebnosti, opažanj in intervencij ob prvem obisku pacienta in družine.Introduction: Community nurses are exposed to various types of hazards in their work. The purpose of the master\u27s thesis is to investigate workplace safety of community nurses when treating patients at home. Methods: We used mixed research methods, which include quantitative and qualitative methods of work and are characterised by the philosophy of pragmatism. In the quantitative part, the data was collected with a questionnaire and analysed with the help of descriptive and infeerential statistics. In the qualitative part, we used the grounded theory method and conducted partially structured interviews. Results: The Mann-Whitney test showed there was a statistically significant difference in workplace hazard perception between rural and urban community nurses, but only as regards hazard perception for working outside of the patient\u27s home (U = 969.000p = 0.023). We identified three categories: workplace hazard perception of community nurses, factors affecting workplace safety and measures of community nurses. Discussion and conclusion: Fieldwork of community nurses is exceptionally demanding and hazardous. On a natonal level, we propose the introduction of a special documentation form or application for community nurses to record the specifics, their observations and interventions at the first visit of the patient and family