Heydi L Rojas-Perez, Maribel A Díaz-Vásquez, Rosa Jeuna Díaz-Manchay, Sandra Zeña-Ñañez, Virgilio E Failoc-Rojas, Daniel Smith
{"title":"Nurses' Environmental Practices in Northern Peruvian Hospitals.","authors":"Heydi L Rojas-Perez, Maribel A Díaz-Vásquez, Rosa Jeuna Díaz-Manchay, Sandra Zeña-Ñañez, Virgilio E Failoc-Rojas, Daniel Smith","doi":"10.1177/21650799231163130","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Decreasing emissions of the global healthcare sector will be an important tool for decreasing the magnitude of climate change. The environmental practices of nurses can have a positive environmental impact. The purpose of this study is to identify environmental practices performed by nurses while at work and home along with their associated factors.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted by surveying nurses from two public hospitals in Lambayeque, Peru. We utilized the Nurses' Environmental Awareness Tool to collect information about nurses' knowledge on environmental impacts, their risk to health, and environmental behaviors at both work and home.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 106 participants who responded, the average age was 41 years, and 29 (28%) worked in surgical services. A little more than half of nurses reported appropriate energy use (51%) and recycling (53%) at work, while 94 (89%) implemented environmental biosafety. There was an observed association between age and years of employment with appropriate energy use, recycling, implementation of environmental biosafety, appropriate chemical substance use, and preventing medication waste.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Nurses reported a favorable tendency toward adequate environmental practices at work and at home. However, more studies are needed to identify the factors that increase nurses' use of these practices.</p><p><strong>Applications to practice: </strong>As one of the most trusted professions, professional nurses have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in promoting environmental health and practices in both the workplace and their personal lives. This study highlights areas of potential intervention in the workplace to develop and promote appropriate environmental practices by nurses to decrease pollution by the healthcare sector.</p>","PeriodicalId":48968,"journal":{"name":"Workplace Health & Safety","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Workplace Health & Safety","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799231163130","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/4/4 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NURSING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Decreasing emissions of the global healthcare sector will be an important tool for decreasing the magnitude of climate change. The environmental practices of nurses can have a positive environmental impact. The purpose of this study is to identify environmental practices performed by nurses while at work and home along with their associated factors.
Methods: This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted by surveying nurses from two public hospitals in Lambayeque, Peru. We utilized the Nurses' Environmental Awareness Tool to collect information about nurses' knowledge on environmental impacts, their risk to health, and environmental behaviors at both work and home.
Results: Of the 106 participants who responded, the average age was 41 years, and 29 (28%) worked in surgical services. A little more than half of nurses reported appropriate energy use (51%) and recycling (53%) at work, while 94 (89%) implemented environmental biosafety. There was an observed association between age and years of employment with appropriate energy use, recycling, implementation of environmental biosafety, appropriate chemical substance use, and preventing medication waste.
Conclusion: Nurses reported a favorable tendency toward adequate environmental practices at work and at home. However, more studies are needed to identify the factors that increase nurses' use of these practices.
Applications to practice: As one of the most trusted professions, professional nurses have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in promoting environmental health and practices in both the workplace and their personal lives. This study highlights areas of potential intervention in the workplace to develop and promote appropriate environmental practices by nurses to decrease pollution by the healthcare sector.
期刊介绍:
Workplace Health & Safety: Promoting Environments Conducive to Well-Being and Productivity is the official publication of the American Association of Occupational Health Nursing, Inc. (AAOHN). It is a scientific peer-reviewed Journal. Its purpose is to support and promote the practice of occupational and environmental health nurses by providing leading edge research findings and evidence-based clinical practices. It publishes articles that span the range of issues facing occupational and environmental health professionals, including emergency and all-hazard preparedness, health promotion, safety, productivity, environmental health, case management, workers'' compensation, business and leadership, compliance and information management.