Chemotherapy Safe Handling Practice and Associated Factors among Nurses Working in Hemato-Oncology Unit in Addis Ababa Public Cancer Treatment Centers, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Background Nurses are potentially exposed to antineoplastic agents in their practice. Exposure to antineoplastic agents is associated with adverse outcomes. Using Safe handling measures reduces the potential for adverse outcomes. Despite existing recommendations, adherence to safe chemotherapy measures is below the recommended levels. Even though this study sought to assess practices of safe handling of chemotherapy among hematooncology Nurses in cancer treatment centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Objective To assess the practice of chemotherapy safe-handling and associated factors among hemato-oncology nurses working in Addis Ababa public cancer treatment centers, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2024. Methods A population census was conducted in which all nurses (219) working in public cancer treatment centers were included, and an institution-based cross-sectional study was used. Data were entered using Epi-Data version 4.1 and exported to SPSS version 25.0 for data cleaning and analysis. To examine the relationship between the outcome and independent variables, factors with a p-value < 0.20 in binary logistic regression analysis were run for subsequent multivariate analyses. A variable that had a statistically significant association with the outcome variable (P < 0.05) was reported as an associated factor by using AOR with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results 219 respondents participated with a response rate of 93.2%. 52.5% of nurses had good chemotherapy safe handling practices, and 67.5% had good knowledge of safe chemotherapy handling practices. Three predictor variables were significantly associated with chemotherapy safe handling practice, such as: less than one year of experience (AOR = 6.4,95%CL: 8.91–11.10), training about chemotherapy safe handling (AOR = 4.83; 95% CI;3.1–8.1), and access to policies and procedures regarding safety (AOR = 3.36,95%CL:1.24–10.61). Conclusion Chemotherapy safe handling practice was moderate. Years of experience, training in chemotherapy safe handling, and access to policies and procedures regarding chemotherapy safety practices were significantly associated with Chemotherapy safe handling practices. Therefore, it is crucial to provide periodic training, access policies and procedures regarding safe chemotherapy handling, and replace nurses with less than one year of experience with nurses who have more years of experience.