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Med. Pr. 2005;56(3)

The workers' knowledge about biological agents occurring in work environment and the ways of health protection against occupational exposure to biological hazards: Part II

Wiedza wybranych grup zawodowych o rodzajach czynników biologicznych obecnych w środowisku pracy oraz o sposobach ochrony przed

Anna Kozajda, Katarzyna Zielińska-Jankiewicz, Irena Szadkowska-Stańczyk Z Zakładu środowiskowych Zagrożeń Zdrowia Instytutu Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera w Łodzi

Abstract

Background: The effectiveness of health protection of workers occupationally exposed to biological agents is equally influenced by the workers' knowledge about the risks related to biological agents and the ways they behave at work. Materials and Methods: In this paper, the authors continue to present the results of the study covering 150 workers employed in health services, forestry, and municipal services. They were interviewed on the basis of a specially designed questionnaire. Results: The majority of the study population used personal protective devices in a proper way and followed the principles of occupational safety and hygiene. Only some of the workers informed occupational medicine physicians about their health problems,which they associated with occupational exposure to biological agents. Conclusion: The interviewed workers are actually able to sufficiently protect their health against biological hazards despite their generally low knowledge of risks related tooccupational exposure to biological agents.

Key words

workers' knowledge, biological agents, health service, forestry, municipal services