Abstract

Over 59 million healthcare workers are prone to occupational hazards including biological, physical, ergonomic, environmental and psychosocial and having knowledge about it will go a long way in determining how well, safe and far every worker will go in the course of his or her job. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge of proper body mechanics and ergonomics among hospital workers in Rivers State. A descriptive design with sample size of 390 was used and the data was collected using researcher-modified questionnaires. Frequency of each demographic variable across the questions were determined on the average of 84% knowledge of ergonomics and body mechanics by the health workers. Inferential statistics of Chi-square was considered at 0.05 level of significance to determine the relationship between the demographic variables and the questions on knowledge and analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solution, version 21. Age (what ergonomics/body mechanics is about, Chi-square, p = 0.017), Marital status (knowledge/awareness that standing for a long time can be hazardous to one’s health, Chi-square, p = 0.037), Occupation [(what ergonomics/body mechanics is about, Chi-square, p = 0.000), (Back pain is one of the consequences of bad posture while doing procedures, Chi-square, p = 0.004), (Sitting for long hours at a stretch can be injurious to your musculoskeletal system and health, Chi-square, p = 0.019), (Do you know that foot wears contribute to your musculoskeletal wellbeing, Chi-square, p = 0.000)], Years of Working [(what ergonomics/body mechanics is about, Chi-square, p = 0.002), (knowledge/awareness that standing for a long time can be hazardous to your health, Chi-square, p= 0.023)] and Highest Educational Qualification [(what ergonomics/body mechanics is about, Chi-square = 0.000), (knowledge/awareness that standing for a long time can be hazardous to your health, Chi-square, p= 0.002)]. It was concluded that the health workers in Rivers State are knowledgeable about ergonomics and body mechanics.