Occupational dermatoses among hospital cleaning workers in Sarawak General Hospital

• Main Author: Ayu Akida, Abdul Rashid
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2010
• Subjects: RA Public aspects of medicine; RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/12070/1/Ayu%20Akida%20Abdul%20Rashid%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/12070/
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Occupational dermatoses are a burden to the society and may present as a long term burden to sufferers of the condition. Numerous studies have investigated occupational dermatoses among various occupations, yet little work has been done locally to examine the patterns ofoccupational dermatoses among hospital cleaning workers and the consequences of the disease on the work environment and the sufferers themselves. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of oocupational dermatoses among hospital cleaning workers and to examine the factors exposed towards the particiPan0 Consequences and coping strategies of the sufferers of the condition is also explored. This study adopts the mixed-method where both qualitative and quantitative approaches are utilized. Data were collected from 138 hospital cleaning wQrkers of Sarawak General Hospital using a self-administered questionnaire, followed by a brief physical examination of the skin and a question-guided interview of those who were identified to have occupational dermatoses. Results indicated that the prev~lence of occupational dermatoses among the study group was 27.5 percent (n=38) with a majority of 65.8 percent (n=25) having dermatitis, while the rest has occupational urticaria. Wet work, food preparation outside work and presence of atopic symptoms are related to acquiring occupational dermatoses. Recommendations for future studies were presented.