The Contribution of Occupational Safety Communication toInfection Control in Clinics: A Quantitative Study on HealthcareWorkers

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to examine the impact of perceived occupational safety communication among healthcare professionals working in clinical settings on adherence to infection control protocols. Furthermore, the potential mediating role of safety awareness in this relationship was also assessed.
The study employed a cross-sectional, descriptive design within the framework of a quantitative research approach. The study sample consisted of 312 healthcare workers working in public and private hospitals in three major cities in Turkey (Ankara, Izmir, and Bursa). Data were collected using three separate scales to measure participants’ perceptions of occupational safety communication, their compliance with infection control protocols, and their safety awareness: the Occupational Safety Communication Scale, the Infection Control Compliance Scale, and the Safety Awareness Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 29.0 and AMOS 28 statistical software.
According to the analysis results, a positive and significant relationship was found between occupational safety communication and compliance with infection control protocols (r = 0.47; p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that occupational safety communication explained 32% of the variance in infection control protocol compliance (R² = 0.32). When the safety awareness variable was added to the model, the explanatory power increased to 46%, and awareness was determined to play a partial mediating role in this relationship (β = 0.22; p < 0.01).
The findings reveal that effective and continuous occupational safety communication in healthcare institutions significantly improves infection control performance. This result demonstrates that clinical safety practices can be made sustainable not only through technical measures but also by improving employee awareness, responsibility, and communication skills. Therefore, strengthening safety communication in healthcare institutions is of strategic importance for both employee and patient safety.