Effectiveness of an educational program on improving the occupational safety and physical injuries among laboratory staff

Laboratory staff members are routinely exposed to occupational hazards that can affect their safety and health. This current study endeavored to determine the effectiveness of an educational program on knowledge, attitude and practice of occupational safety and physical injuries among laboratory staff in hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. This study adopted a quasi-experimental design, which comprised two phases. One phase involved the development of an intervention educational program, while the other focused on evaluating the differences in the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of occupational safety (OS) and injuries between two groups using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 140 laboratory staff members were selected from three hospitals in Makkah and divided equally into intervention and control groups. The research instruments including knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaires were adapted based on the literature review. Data collected at baseline, one, three and six months post-intervention showed significant improvement in knowledge, attitudes, and practices among the members in the intervention group compared to those in the control group (P < 0.05). Based on the findings of this study, an educational program could be a useful and cost-effective method in laboratories, to enhance the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of the staff.