EVALUATION OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT USE OF INTENSIVE CARE NURSES

Abstract

Employer/employer representatives are obliged to implement practices to protect their employees against the dangers and risks that the employees will be exposed to during the execution and execution of the work. Protection practices are primarily the arrangements made at the source, in the environment if it is not possible to intervene at the source, and finally on the employee. Employees are tried to be protected through practices such as protective practices for the employee, providing personal protective equipment according to the dangers and risks that the employee is exposed to, and checking whether the employee uses these protectors. It is important that the personal protectors are suitable for the ergonomics of the employee, that they do not cause other hazards and risks, and that the employee is given training on the use of personal protectors. This study is a study on the use of personal protective equipment by nurses working in the intensive care unit of five hospitals in Istanbul. As a result of the study, we determined that most of the nurses working in the intensive care unit are female, married, working time in the intensive care unit is between 1-4 years, and working more than 13 hours per day. We determined that the use of personal protective equipment changed depending on the daily working time, the level of PPE usage decreased as the working time increased, and the use of PPE was higher during the 8-hour working period, not depending on other factors such as gender, age, graduation, marital status. Since the long working hours of intensive care nurses affect their performance, they should not work more than the maximum daily working time. This study will contribute to the literature in terms of stating the importance of intensive care nurses using personal protective equipment.