[Determination of the numerical scores of occupational hazards and their predisposing factors among nurses working in educational hospitals in Arak city]

The outcomes of work hazards in nurses include rising the rate of absence, frequent referral to the doctor, decreasing productivity and increasing the financial burden. The purpose of this study was to determine the numerical scores of occupational hazards and their predisposing factors in nurses working in educational hospitals in Arak city. This was a descriptive study accomplished with 102 employed nurses selected using a convenience sampling method. Data was gathered using a tool consisted of three parts: demographic data, predisposing factors to occupational hazards, and occupational hazards' score questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The numerical scores of occupational hazards in showed the presence of chronic fatigue [238], stress [209], pain in back [208] and foot [201]. The most predisposing factors to occupational hazard in the environmental dimension were lack of suitable supportive equipment [261] and calmness and relaxation in the work environment [217]. In administration-implementation dimension, the predisposing factor was working more than one shift and nurse shortage in the ward [261]. In the educational dimension, lack of enough knowledge about how to reduce work-induced fatigue [222] was the predisposing factor to work hazards. There was a significant correlation [P=0.02] between chronic fatigue and inadequate protective equipment. In addition, there was a significant correlation [P<0.001] between working for more than one shift and Inadequate knowledge about how to reduce work induced fatigue. The most common occupational hazard in the nurses was chronic fatigue. Nurses encounter with many predisposing factors in hospitals. Provision of nursing care to the society depends on nurses' optimum physical and emotional health. Therefore, in order to promote nurses' health, the establishment of occupational hazards' risk reduction committees is recommended

[Barriers to apply pain assessment tools in children by nurses]

Pain control is intended to prevent pain and suffering of women and to increase the quality of life. Successful pain control is achieved by accurate pain assessment and for doing this, proper and valid tools should be applied. This descriptive cross sectional study was performed to identify the problems of nurses in: applying pain assessment tools in children. 30 nurses in emergency ward of clinics of Oil Company voluntarily took part in the study. A questionnaire in 3 parts including demographics, barriers of nurses to apply the tools and information regarding pain assessment was used for data collection. Content method was used for validity of the tool. Its reliability for the second and third part was measured by test-retest and internal consistency methods respectively. 72.3% and 26.7% of nurses were male and female respectively. 73.3% had baccalaureate and 26.7% had associate degrees. Their mean age was 37 +/- 5. 60%, 20% and 20% of the nurses had moderate, weak and good knowledge regarding pain assessment respectively. The most common barriers were environmental [facilities and manpower [lack of a pain assessment tool and inadequate personnel to assess pain]], administrative [lack of regulations to assess pain and lack of inclusion of it in annual personnel evaluations], educational [inadequate programs in this regard] and personal or motivational [work overload of nurses] according to the subjects. Results showed that nurses face with many difficulties in assessing pain from different aspects. The analysis and suggestions indicate that the most significant solution for this problem is to establish pain control nursing committee at the setting