Safe Working Behavior Related to Patient Handling among the Nurses Working in Pokhara Academy of Health Science, Pokhara, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Safety behavior is crucial for nurses to ensure the patient's safety. It is a critical parameter of healthcare quality. Safe working behaviors related to patient handling of the nurses are prime for patient’s safety. Thus, this study aimed to assess the safe working behavior related to patient handling among nurses working in Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal.

Method: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was done 115 nurses working in the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences through convenience sampling. A self-administered questionnaire on the “Safe Work Behavior Related to Patient Handling (SWH-PH) tool developed by Soo-Jeong Lee was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics analyzed demographics, while the chi-square test assessed associations in safe behavior using SPSS software, with significance set at p=0.05.

Result: This study found that the majority of nurses were in the young age group of 21-30 (75%) about two-thirds of nurses had a bachelor's degree in nursing (67.8%). The mean score on safe work behavior related to patient handling of the nurses was 3.50 out of 5. The education level and the working area of the nurses were statistically significant mean differences in safe patient handling behavior.

Conclusion: The study found that about fifty percents of the nurses working in Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences had adequate safe working behavior during patient handling. The study recommends that hospital management should enhance the safety culture in hospitals in promoting nurses' safe behavior related to patient handling.