Occupational Exposure of Employees in a Multispecialty Hospital to Factors Causing Contact Dermatitis-A Questionnaire Study.

Background and Objectives: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a serious health and socio-economic problem. Accurate and reliable assessment of exposure to ACD factors in the work environment would increase quality of life and work of employees. The aim of this study was to assess the level of exposure of workers of a multidisciplinary hospital to the factors causing ACD. Material and Methods: The proprietary OSDES-16 questionnaire was used. The effectiveness of the OSDES-16 was confirmed statistically. The study included 230 employees of the medical center in Polanica Zdrój, divided into groups. Results: The differences in the overall assessment of exposure between the individual groups in the OSDES-16 scale were statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the current workplace and the level of exposure to ACD (p > 0.05). The level of exposure to ACD in the group of employees with work experience in the current position for more than 10 years was significantly higher than those working less than 6 years (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Nurses, midwives and paramedics are the occupational group most exposed to the development of contact allergy related to exposure to factors present in the work environment. The seniority of more than 10 years in the current position was linked with a higher level of occupational exposure.

The novel questionnaire assessing occupational exposure to the risk factors of contact allergy among health professionals.

Introduction: Skin diseases account for about 7% of all occupational diseases in Europe. Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is one of the most common occupational skin diseases. Therefore, it constitutes the major health and economic problem. Increasing the detectability of ACD would significantly improve the quality of life of patients and their work efficiency. Aim: To design a questionnaire facilitating the diagnosis of ACD in work environment of healthcare providers. Material and methods: The initial questionnaire consisted of 53 questions related to ACD and exposure to various occupational hazards. On its basis, a scale of exposure to occupational skin diseases (OSDES-49) was created. The reliability of the scale was measured using the internal consistency test of the scale. It was assumed that individual items of the scale would be correlated with the total score if the Kleine and Nunnally criteria were met. Results: The Kleine and Nunnally criteria were met by 16 out of 49 items on the scale. OSDES-49 results were strongly correlated with the assessment using a questionnaire consisting of only 16 items (OSDES-16). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was rho = 0.850 and p < 0.001. Conclusions: Results of the study showed that in any further screening tests, the OSDES-16 scale is reliable. The use of OSDES-16 reduces the time of initial diagnostics and simplifies it.