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Aims and objectives To determine the prevalence and type of occupational injuries in nurses and their associations with workload, working shift, and nurses' individual and organisational factors. Background Nurses are vulnerable to occupational injuries due to the nature of their job. Design A cross-sectional correlational design (based on STROBE Statement) was conducted. Methods This study was conducted among 616 nurses of four public hospitals located in four different provinces in Iran. Data were collected using three questionnaires including an organisational and demographic questionnaire, an occupational injuries checklist and the NASA-TLX questionnaire (about mental workload). Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA and multivariate logistic regression were used in SPSS version 23.0 for statistical analysis. Results Blood and body fluid exposures had the highest prevalence (47.4%) among all injuries. Needlestick injuries showed a significant relation with gender, age, number of shifts in a month and work experience. With increase in mental workload, needlestick injuries increase by 35%. Also, injuries reported by nurses working in rotating shifts were 15%-53% more than nurses working in fixed shifts. Conclusion Working in rotating shifts and work overload was significantly related to all injuries. Decreasing nurses' mental workload, introducing guidelines and efficient training in shift work schedules can help decrease occupational injuries among nurses. Relevance to clinical practice In order to reduce occupational injuries among nurses, in addition to incorporating advanced management and technology, it is necessary to pay attention to psychosocial, individual and organisational risk factors related to occupational injuries and their frequency in nurses. Also, reducing personnel's mental and occupational pressure should be considered.

BACKGROUND Patient-handling is one of the main tasks of nursing personnel; it imposes compressive and shear forces on nurses' lower spine. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Low Back Pain (LBP), risk factors in the incidence of such disorders, and patient handling risk assessment among nursing personnel. METHODS This study was carried out on 243 randomly selected nursing personnel who played a role in handling the patients (58 wards). Patient Transfer Assessment Instrument (PTAI) checklists alongside Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaires (NMQ) were used for data collection. The statistical analyses such as independent t-test and Chi-Square test were used. RESULTS Prevalence of LBP among nursing personal was 69.5% in the previous 12 months. Significant correlations were found among age, working hours per week, work experience, BMI, gender and shift-work. Results of PTAI index assessment revealed that more than 90% of subjects were in medium and severe risks of LBP. PTAI index scores were significantly associated with LBP (P

Background: According to the growth of photocopier usage in workplaces, the potential risk of occupational exposure to the airborne chemicals has been raised up. Hence, monitoring the photocopy worker's respiratory functions seems to be necessary. We aimed to evaluate the respiratory health on photocopy and printing workers so that a reliable description can be made about their occupational hygiene. Methods: This study was performed in Shiraz, southwest Iran in 2014 and a group of 150 photocopy and printing workers were surveyed as exposed group in addition to a group of 114 office staff as unexposed group. The respiratory standard questionnaire was used to evaluate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among the selected staff. Pulmonary function indexes including VC, FVC, FEV1 and the FEV1/FVC ratio were calculated. Finally, t-test, Chi Square and multiple logistic regressions were conducted. Results: VC, FVC and FEV1 in photocopy and printing workers were lower than the unexposed group of which these differences for FVC and FEV1 were statistically significant (P

Background: Medication errors may happen in any hospital setting. Medication error reporting can enhance patient safety and provide valuable information about reasons behind errors. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine nurses' perspectives on the reasons behind medication errors and the barriers to error reporting. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 on 213 hospital nurses working in three hospitals in Kerman, Iran. Nurses working in different inpatient wards were selected through random sampling. Data were collected using a three-part questionnaire on nurses' demographic characteristics, reasons behind medication errors, and reasons for not reporting them. Data analysis was done through the independent sample t-test and the one-way analysis of variance. Results: The most and the least important reasons behind medication errors were nurses' insufficient attention to patients' medical records (3.63 ± 1.29) and the high number of tasks (2.01 ± 0.99), respectively. Moreover, the most and the least important reasons for not reporting medication errors included forgetting to report (2.80 ± 1.20) and fear over being blamed by doctors (2.03 ± 0.98), respectively. Conclusion: Nurse- and management-related factors were the most important reasons behind medication errors and not reporting them, respectively. Designing an efficient system for medication error reporting and a systematic approach for evaluating and managing error risk factors is recommended.

Background Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are among the most common occupational disorders in many countries and have an increasing trend. Objective The present study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence rate of MSDs in different body regions and the effect of personal factors on the prevalence rate of MSDs among rubber industry workers. Methods This analytical and cross-sectional study was performed on 206 workers of an Iranian rubber factory in 2014. The samples were randomly selected. Data were gathered by means of personal information form, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). The results were analyzed using SPSS16; by descriptive and analytical statistics. Results The mean age and work history of subjects were 34.54±6.36 and 12.34±6.28 years, respectively. The highest prevalence rate of MSDs in the last twelve-months was related to the lower back region with a prevalence rate of 62.1%. Based on logistic regression, a significant correlation was found between MSDs and the final REBA score so that for a one-unit increase in score, the risk or complaint of neck and low back pain increased by 48.5% and 37.1%, respectively. Conclusion Many rubber factory workers experience MSDs especially in the lower back region as a consequence of occupational risk factors. Therefore, detecting the occupational risk factors, work position standards and following ergonomic interventions are highly recommended.