Full Answer Section

• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE). Laboratory workers should be provided with the PPE that they need to protect themselves from hazards. This includes gloves, goggles, masks, and gowns.
• Encourage healthy behaviors. Laboratory workers should be encouraged to eat healthy foods, get regular exercise, and get enough sleep. These healthy behaviors can help to protect laboratory workers from illness.
• Screen for health problems. Laboratory workers should be screened for health problems that are common in the laboratory setting. This includes screening for respiratory problems, hearing problems, and skin problems.
• Provide counseling and support. Laboratory workers who are experiencing stress or anxiety should be able to get counseling and support. This can help to prevent these problems from developing into more serious health problems.

The rationale for these nursing interventions is based on current nursing literature. For example, a study published in the journal “Occupational and Environmental Medicine” found that laboratory workers who received training on safety procedures were less likely to be injured on the job. Another study, published in the journal “American Journal of Infection Control,” found that laboratory workers who wore PPE were less likely to contract a laboratory-acquired infection.

By implementing these health promotion and illness prevention interventions, laboratory workers can protect themselves from hazards and stay safe. This is important not only for the individual laboratory worker, but also for the overall safety of the laboratory.

In addition to the interventions mentioned above, there are a number of other things that laboratory workers can do to promote their health and prevent illness. These include:

• Be aware of the hazards in the laboratory and take steps to avoid them.
• Report any hazards that you see to your supervisor.
• Ask questions if you don’t know how to do something safely.
• Take breaks throughout the day to stretch and move around.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
• Get enough sleep.
• See a doctor for regular checkups.