Self-Reported Plastic-Related Occupational Scenarios and Perceived Support Priorities Among Operating-Room Nursing Staff: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Survey.

AIM(S): To examine work-context associations with self-reported plastic-related occupational scenario burden and perceived support priorities among operating-room nursing staff.

BACKGROUND

Operating rooms rely heavily on plastic-containing disposable materials and smoke-generating workflows, but nursing-management evidence on how staff report these occupational scenarios remains limited.

METHOD(S): This exploratory multicentre cross-sectional survey included 448 eligible nursing personnel from nine recruitment groups in China (eight hospital-based; one visiting-nurse training cohort); 415 frontline staff formed the analytic population. The principal outcome was a 0-100 formative occupational scenario-burden index. Adjusted linear regression included recruitment-group fixed effects, with alternative index definitions and binary distribution-based outcomes examined as sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

Among 415 frontline operating-room nursing staff, the mean occupational scenario-burden score was 50.7 (SD 12.4); 408 participants had complete data for the principal regression. Night-shift status was associated with a 3.86-point higher score (HC3 95% CI 0.96-6.76), and this association remained positive across the principal sensitivity analyses. Orthopaedic involvement was associated with a 4.93-point higher score in the original index, although the estimate attenuated after specialty-specific content was removed. The most frequently endorsed support priorities were rest-area water infrastructure (69.9%), meal-container reform (63.6%) and ventilation/smoke-management optimisation (63.4%).

CONCLUSION(S): Night-shift work was associated with higher self-reported occupational scenario burden, with positive point estimates across the principal sensitivity analyses, whereas the specialty-related association was more sensitive to index composition. These findings identify organisational priorities for review and provide a basis for prospective studies integrating validated scenario measures with objective exposure assessment.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Staff-endorsed priorities provide a practical agenda for nurse managers to review workflows, smoke-control practices, procurement, rest-area infrastructure and night-shift support and to select priorities for prospective evaluation.