P-515 Risk Management and Safety Climate in High School Laboratories

Introduction Safety-related accidents in academic laboratories show the need to improve policies, procedures, and practices. School administrators have the responsibility to provide safety conditions to both students and teachers while teachers should educate by example. This study aimed to evaluate risk management and safety climate among laboratory teachers at Sonora High schools (Mexico). Methods A 38-item RAMP-T survey adapted from de RAMP methodology (Recognition, Assessment, Minimization and Prepare for Emergencies) and a 20-item CLASS-T (Chemistry Laboratory Safety Survey) were sent to 347 teachers of 107 high schools in Sonora. Protocol and materials were approved by the UNISON Ethics Committee (CEI-UNISON-08/2021). The scale reliability varied from 0.87-0.98 for RAMP-T and from 0.66-0.94 for CLASS-T. Results A total of 148 teachers responded to the surveys. RAMP-T scores were above average for all four dimensions. CLASS-T revealed that the safety climate in schools was positive, as is their commitment, leadership, recognition, and practice towards safety. The association between risk management and the safety climate in the laboratory was positive and moderate (r=0.432). Discussion Teachers reported managing risks, but it is necessary to reinforce this practice, mainly risk assessment and emergency preparedness. The laboratory safety climate in high schools was positive but still showed opportunities for improvement. The association between safety climate in the laboratory and risk management indicated that a better safety climate in the institution could reinforce risk management, according to the perspective of high school teachers in Sonora. Conclusions Active support for laboratory safety by high school administrators could motivate teachers to develop safer laboratory practices.