Factors Predicting Quality of Life of Surgical Technologists in Operating Room

Mohammadi, Sara; Hanani, Sedighe; Amiri, Fardin; Azadi, Namamali; Kamali, Nasrin

Volume 30, Issue 2 (4-2023) RJMS 2023, 30(2): 194-206 | Back to browse issues page

Research code: IR.IUMS.REC 1395.9411101009

Ethics code: IR.IUMS.REC 1395.9411101009

Clinical trials code: IR.IUMS.REC 1395.9411101009

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Mohammadi S, Hanani S, Amiri F, Azadi N, Kamali N. Factors Predicting Quality of Life of Surgical Technologists in Operating Room. RJMS 2023; 30 (2) :194-206
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-6252-en.html

Factors Predicting Quality of Life of Surgical Technologists in Operating Room

Sara Mohammadi

MSc of Surgical Technologist, Department of Operating Room, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran , smohamadi91070@gmail.com

Abstract: (792 Views)

Background & Aims: The goal of medical science, which is progressing on a daily basis, is not only to avoid diseases but also to increase the quality of life of people (1). Quality of life is an important indicator of health beyond physical health and includes the feeling of healthiness, some degree of satisfaction and the general sense of self-worth (2), namely a mental state of well-being that can be influenced by culture, value system and the stressful environment (3). According to WHO definition, the quality of life is people's understanding of their position in life in terms of culture, value system in which they live, their goals, expectations, standards and priorities (4), which is affected in different ways by social, economic, environmental and individual factors (5). In fact, economic, psychological, social and environmental factors (6), as well as age, health status, occupation (7), gender, culture, education along with general behavioral, job and adaptation elements can influence the quality of life (8). Failure to pay attention to quality of life can lead to disappointment, reduction in social, cultural, economic, and health activities, loss of work motivation, decreased job performance, occupational burnout and early retirement (8, 9). On the other hand, paying attention to quality of life increases efficiency and reduces psychological pressures (10). Quality of life is one of the most important aspects of human health, and improving the health of employees may reduce medical costs, disability and absenteeism, improve job satisfaction and increase productivity (9, 11(.
The operating room is a closed environment associated with risks and anomalies, which can be considered a unit with environmental factors of stress causing dissatisfaction with personal responsibilities and professional work of surgical technologists, which may lead to physical and mental disorders adversely affecting a person's health and quality of life (13). Because we need employees who enjoy their high quality of life in order to provide satisfactory health care (14), the physical, mental health and emotional management of staff should not be neglected (15). In the operating room, the common goal of the surgical team is to provide effective, systematic and safe care, and failure of each member to perform their role can have a serious impact on the success of the entire team, and on the other hand, the success of an individual as a member of the team creates personal satisfaction in him/her (16) because surgical technologists are responsible for maintaining safety and comfort for patients in the operating room (17). Any negligence on the part of technologists may endanger the life of patients. According to the search for sources on this issue in Iran and abroad, it was observed that there were limited studies on quality of life of surgical technologists. Therefore, the researcher decided to conduct the present study with the aim of determining the quality of life and its related factors among surgical technologists of the medical training hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study that was conducted in hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences hospitals, 125 surgical technologists were recruited. Inclusion criterion was holding an associate or bachelor degree in surgical technology. The cluster sampling method was used, in which each of the centers was considered a separate cluster. According to the number of staff in the center, the personnel IDs of individuals were written on small sheets of paper. Then, the IDs were randomly selected by a person outside the study, the number was matched with that in the staff list, the desired person was chosen and sampling completed. A total of 150 questionnaires was distributed among surgical technologists in hospitals. The data were collected using demographic information questionnaire (age, gender, marital status, work experience, type of shift work, level of education, income, night shift hours per month and employment status) as well as 26-item WHOQOL-BREF. After obtaining permission from Research Vice-Chancellor (ethics code IR.IUMS.REC 1395.9411101009), OR was visited to collect data. The research goal was explained to all the research units, and there was no compulsion to participate in the study. In all stages of the research, the utmost confidentiality was observed for personal information, and anonymous questionnaires were completed as self-reports by the research units themselves in presence of the researcher. The normal distribution of data was confirmed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test in SPSS-22. The results of descriptive analysis for qualitative variables were reported using frequency (percentage). The values of variables related to different dimensions of quality of life in each level of the studied variables were reported using mean±SD. To examine the relationship between different dimensions of quality of life with the studied variables, independent t-test was used for two-level qualitative variables, and one-way ANOVA was employed for qualitative variables with more than two levels. Bonferroni's post hoc test was used for pairwise comparisons. To investigate the effect of each variable on different dimensions of quality of life by controlling the effect of other variables, we used linear regression analysis, so that the significant variables entered at 0.2 level in univariate analysis. P<0.05 was considered the significance level in the rest of tests.
Results: The participants of this research were 125 surgical technologists. More than half of the research units (52%) were <30 years, 40.8% were 30-40 years and the rest >49 years. The majority of research units (79.2%) were women and the rest were men. The mean and standard deviation of the quality of life was 63.10 ± 18.57; quality-of-life score in dimension of physical health was 54.77 ± 18.87, social health 54.60 ± 18.07, mental health 54.40±14.19, and environmental health 48.27±12.25, which shows that the lowest quality of life score of research units was related to the environmental dimension. By controlling the effect of each of the dependent variables, the variables of marital status and time of night shift had a significant effect on the level of physical health, so that after controlling the effect of night shift variable, the physical health score of married people was on average 13.23 units higher than single people [B=13.23, SE=2.96, P=<0.001, 95%CI= (7.36, 19.09)]. Also, after controlling the effect of the variable of marital status, physical health score of people who had >36 hours of night shift per month was on average 8.73 points lower than those who had <12 hours of night shift per month [B=- 8.73, SE=4.01, P=0.031, 95% CI= (-16.66, -0.790)].
Conclusion: The quality of life of surgical technologists was at an average level, and it was lower than other dimensions in the environmental dimension. Married people had a higher quality of physical health than unmarried people, and physical health was lower in those who had >36 hours of night shift per month relative to people with <12 hours of night shift per month.

Keywords: Quality of life, Operating room, Surgical technologist

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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Nursing