Turnover intention among operating room nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak and its association with perceived safety climate.

BACKGROUND: In critical situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses always face a lot of stress that can increase their turnover intention. Since a suitable safety climate in the workplace is considered an important factor in preventive management of occupational hazards and people's adaptation to stressful conditions, the present study aimed to determine Turnover intention among operating room nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak and its association with perceived safety climate. METHODS: In this descriptive correlational study, participants were 190 operating room nurses working at public hospitals in Mazandaran (Iran) who were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using the Anticipated Turnover Scale and the Nurses' Safety Climate Questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS16. RESULTS: The results of the linear regression analysis revealed that safety climate significantly reduced turnover intention among nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic (P < 0.001). An increase of one unit in the total score of safety climate led to a 0.6 reduction in the turnover intention of operating room nurses. CONCLUSION: The present findings demonstrated an unfavorable safety climate perceived by perioperative nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant inverse relationship with turnover intention. Strategies such as training personnel on the prevention of the disease transmission in the surgery of patients infected with or suspected of COVID-19, creating a proper supportive environment for personnel, and providing appropriate protective equipment to prevent infection with COVID-19 seem absolutely vital to improving the safety climate in the operating room, thereby reducing turnover intention.

Attitude, preventive practice and perceived barriers among perioperative and anesthesia nurses toward surgical smoke hazards during the COVID-19 outbreak.

BACKGROUND: Surgical smoke (SS), which is produced by the use of high-temperature devices for cutting and coagulation of tissue during surgical procedures, is considered a serious threat to the health of operating room (OR) staff due to the presence of hazardous substances and possibility of transmitting various infections such as HPV, HIV, COVID-19 and so on. This study was conducted to determine the Attitude, preventive practice and perceived barriers among perioperative and anesthesia nurses toward surgical smoke hazards. METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted at hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Iran) in 2021, 262 perioperative and anesthesia nurses were included by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and an SS questionnaire consisting of questions on attitude (17 item), practice (8 item), and barriers (13 item). Collected data were analyzed using SPSS16. RESULTS: The mean attitude and preventive practice scores (49.52 ± 12.36 and 15.8 ± 2.05, respectively) of the operating room nurses were reported at moderate and weak levels, respectively. There was a direct and significant relationship between attitude and practice scores (r = 0.129, P = 0.019). The main barriers to the prevention and dealing with the hazards of SS in ORs were reported in management (3.68 ± 1.06) and equipment (3.24 ± 0.66) dimensions, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to adopt strategies to improve the attitude of OR staff regarding the preventive measures against surgical smoke hazards. Moreover, appropriate equipment and support of managers should be provided by explaining the policies and guidelines to prevent the complications of surgical smoke.