Strategy for the prevention of occupational risks in nursing students at a public institution in Popayán, Colombia Aplicación móvil como estrategia de prevención de riesgos ocupacionales en estudiantes de enfermería de una institución en Popayán, Colombia.

Abstract

Introduction. According to WHO and ILO, occupational safety and health seeks to promote and maintain the health conditions of workers from a focus of physical, mental and social well-being, through the prevention of diseases, accidents and the control of risks. However, work related accidents are a serious problem that are rapidly increasing. Each year, there are around 317 million work related accidents in the world. The accident rate of nursing students is too high, and the main accidents occur due to punctures, splashes, performing unsafe practices such as leaving sharp objects on different surfaces or re-encapsulating syringes. For the reasons mentioned above, the aim of this study was to develop a strategy supported by ICT for the prevention of risks related to occupational health and safety of the nursing program students of a SENA Training Center.

Materials and methods. Quantitative-descriptive study, with 11 students of the nursing program who are in the lective and productive stages. The final survey was validated by expert judges and included 30 questions that established the demographic characteristics, the profile related to occupational risks and antecedents, and the technological profile of the participants.

Results. The results of this study are consistent with the high accident rate of nursing students reported in similar studies. These conditions have been related to exposure to different occupational hazards derived from the exercise of health professions, such as exposure to biological, chemical, ergonomic or psychosocial risks. Therefore, they highlight the need to create strategies for the management of occupational risks identified in the environments, where actions focused on training in terms of compliance with protocols, promoting the appropriate use of Personal Protection Elements and continuous monitoring of workers are of vital importance.

Conclusions. It is suggested to replicate this study in another territories of the country, in order to make visible the health and safety conditions of nursing students, accidents, and risk prevention and mitigation strategies, which allow to develop appropriate interventions, the design and implementation of safety and health actions at work environments in accordance with the profiles and needs of population.

 Key words. Nursing students, Occupational Health Occupational risks, mHealth app.