Modeling of the Factors Causing Occupational Accidents in the Health Care Sector using the DEMATEL-ISM Method

Abstract Background There are many factors that cause occupational accidents in the healthcare sector, and these accident factors create complexity because the relationships between them are not understood. For this reason, clarifying the factors of occupational accidents with complex structures is of great importance for the health and safety of employees. Methods The factors causing occupational accidents in the health sector were reduced to 21 factors under the following dimensions: human, machine and equipment, environment and media, and management. The integrated DEMATEL-ISM method was used to evaluate the relationship between the complex occupational accident factors and to create a hierarchical network model. The identified factors were transformed into a questionnaire form and expert opinion was obtained from occupational safety professionals working in the health sector. Results The analysis was carried out in two steps. In the first step, the degrees of centrality, causality, impact, and influence among the factors causing the accident were calculated by DEMATEL method and the factors were ranked according to their criteria weights. In the second step, ISM method was used to create a clear image of the analysis results obtained by DEMATEL, and a multi-level hierarchical network model was established among the factors. As a result of the findings obtained and the hierarchical network model, it was determined that 12 factors are the priority factors that directly affect occupational accidents and have critical importance. Conclusions This study provides a novel perspective by employing the integrated DEMATEL-ISM method for the first time in analyzing occupational accidents in the health sector. It may contribute to the development of effective safety measures and strategies for the prioritized factors identified.