How compliant are technicians with universal safety measures in medical laboratories in Croatia? – A pilot study

INTRODUCTION This pilot study aimed to investigate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and compliance to the code of conduct (rules defined in institutional, governmental and professional guidelines) among laboratory technicians in Croatian medical laboratories. In addition, we explored the differences in compliance between participants of different age groups, laboratory ownership and accreditation status. MATERIALS AND METHODS An anonymous and voluntary survey with 15 questions was conducted among Croatian medical laboratory technicians (N=217). The questions were divided into two groups: demographic characteristics and the use of PPE. The questions of the second part were graded according to the Likert scale (1-4) and an overall score, shown as median and range (min-max), was calculated for each participant. Differences between the overall scores were tested for each group of participants. RESULTS The majority of participants always wear protective clothes at work, 38.7% of them always wear gloves in daily routine, more than 30.0% consume food and almost half of them drink beverages at workplace. A significantly lower overall score was found for participants working in public compared to private laboratories (36 (16-40) vs. 40 (31-40), P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in overall scores for participants of different age groups (P=0.456) and laboratory accreditation status (P=0.081). CONCLUSION A considerable percentage of laboratory technicians in Croatian medical laboratories do not comply with safety measures. Lack of compliance is observed in all personnel regardless laboratory accreditation and participants' age. However, those working in private laboratories adhere more to the code of conduct.