Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate employees’self-assessments of their occupational risks and health awareness as well as theirperception of preventive methods. We also aimed to collect data on employees’ perceptionof some selected alarming signs and symptoms that may encourage them to take furtheractions (such as separation and calling an ambulance).
Participants and methods: Between April and June 2013, an anonymousquestionnaire survey was conducted with the participation of 70 employees working withmigrants (both health-care and non-health-care staff) in 10 Hungarian settlements: 4border crossing points along the eastern Schengen borderline, 3 asylum detention centersand 3 reception centers.
Results: Our results demonstrated an increased perception of certainbiological and mental health hazards at work among those working with migrants: 63.7% ofthe health-care workers and even 37.3% of the non-health-care staff come into contact withhuman secretions (feces, urine, saliva) “frequently” or “sometimes”. Self-assessedawareness of the signs and symptoms of infectious diseases was poor: only 12.8% ofparticipants evaluated their awareness as “good” or “very good”. Threat of verbal violencemay be considered a common mental risk at work for participants: 35% “sometimes” or“frequently” and 5% “always” face verbal violence during their work. The most commonlyused preventive measures against infectious diseases included the use of gloves, masks anddisinfectants; these were generally available to 70 to 80% of the workers and properlyapplied.
Conclusions: Our results indicate considerable deficiencies in theparticipants’ preparedness in respect to their occupational health-related issues. Sinceit is essential for those having daily physical contact with migrants during their work tobe properly informed about the occupational health hazards and consequences that may beassociated with international migration, their training programs urgently require furtherdevelopment. More comprehensive knowledge may improve the preventive attitudes ofemployees, and conscious application of preventive measures may contribute to betterpublic and occupation health safety.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate employees’ self-assessments of their occupational risks and health awareness as well as their perception of preventive methods. We also aimed to collect data on employees’ perception of some selected alarming signs and symptoms that may encourage them to take further actions (such as separation and calling an ambulance).
Participants and methods: Between April and June 2013, an anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted with the participation of 70 employees working with migrants (both health-care and non-health-care staff) in 10 Hungarian settlements: 4 border crossing points along the eastern Schengen borderline, 3 asylum detention centers and 3 reception centers.
Results: Our results demonstrated an increased perception of certain biological and mental health hazards at work among those working with migrants: 63.7% of the health-care workers and even 37.3% of the non-health-care staff come into contact with human secretions (feces, urine, saliva) “frequently” or “sometimes”. Self-assessed awareness of the signs and symptoms of infectious diseases was poor: only 12.8% of participants evaluated their awareness as “good” or “very good”. Threat of verbal violence may be considered a common mental risk at work for participants: 35% “sometimes” or “frequently” and 5% “always” face verbal violence during their work. The most commonly used preventive measures against infectious diseases included the use of gloves, masks and disinfectants; these were generally available to 70 to 80% of the workers and properly applied.
Conclusions: Our results indicate considerable deficiencies in the participants’ preparedness in respect to their occupational health-related issues. Since it is essential for those having daily physical contact with migrants during their work to be properly informed about the occupational health hazards and consequences that may be associated with international migration, their training programs urgently require further development. More comprehensive knowledge may improve the preventive attitudes of employees, and conscious application of preventive measures may contribute to better public and occupation health safety.