Potential health and hygiene risks of staff work in the orthopedic operating room

Work in operating theatres is very demanding. The specifics of operating theatre operations imply a number of potential risks to which operating theatre staff are exposed. The aim of the Bachelor's thesis was first to briefly describe the possible risks, to find out the opinion of general nurses on the occurrence of selected risks in the orthopaedic operating room and then to compare the level of concern in relation to age. In order to achieve the stated aim, we developed a questionnaire based on the theoretical part of the thesis and conducted a survey among general nurses working in the orthopaedic ward. A total of 110 questionnaires were completed by perioperative and anaesthetic nurses. The results were then evaluated including statistical processing. Three hypotheses were set in relation to the objectives. For all three hypotheses, we hypothesized that the perception of the difficulty of the work and the level of risk apprehension in the orthopedic ward would be related to age. The results obtained can be briefly summarized as follows: in the perception of the individual respondents of risks and stressful situations, in relation to the age of the respondents, the dependence on age was demonstrated in only one category. Only in the evaluation of the question on the observance of meal breaks, a link with age was demonstrated. Thus, only in this single category did the level of negative perception decrease with increasing age. The result of the research showed that the older the OR staff is, the less stressful this particular situation is for them. The negative perception of the physical stress associated with the work increases with age. Similarly, the questionnaires confirmed a higher perception of the psychological demands of working in the operating theatre in relation to age. Furthermore, there was evidence of a high prevalence of health and psychological problems that staff associated with working in an orthopaedic operating theatre. Accurate knowledge of the perception of health and hygiene risks and stressors by operating room staff can provide useful information when trying to improve working conditions in a targeted manner