Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids of nurses at emergency department

Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among health care professionals consists a major occupational hazard, globally. The CDC estimates that each year 385.000 needlesticks and other sharps-related injuries are sustained by hospital healthcare personnel. Nurses emerge as the staff group reporting the highest proportion of such injuries. The aim of the present study was tο explore the reasons that may cause injuries as well as the level of nurses’ knowledge about this occupational hazard. Material-method : Study sample consisted of 124 nurses of 6 General Hospital in Attica working at Emergency departments. The data were collected by the completion of a specific questionnaire designed for the needs of the research. Statistic analyses were conducted by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 16.0 and the statistical method used was pearson correlation. Results : From the 124 participants, 79.8% were women and 20.2% men. Regarding age, 14.5% of the sample studied were 8-25 years old, 26.6% 26-35, 43.5% 36-45 and 15.3%>45 years old. As for education level, 56.5% of the participants were of technological education, 32.3% of secondary and 4.8% of university. 87.1% of the participants reported exposure to blood or other liquids while 52.8% reported exposure during evening shift, 30.6% during morning shift and 16.7% during night. In regard to the degree of exposure, 10.3% reported deep wound, 32.7% middle and 57.0% surface wound whereas in 25% of the cases the type of exposure regarded skin and its’ continuity. 77.2% reported through the skin needle stick injury, 42.3% needle stick injury with visible blood and the 82.2% reported that the needle stick had been already used to other patient. 86.4% of men reported the exposure to the Committee of Infectious Disease whereas the percentage of women was 63.4%. Finally, men were more likely to report the exposure, p=0,004. 100% of the participants reported that they need more education. Conclusions: Prevention and control strategies of exposure to blood and body liquids in conjunction with proper education are the key-factors for the solution of this problem. It is important for every worksite to be assessed in order to identify possible occupational hazards and to apply comprehensive interventions to minimize the risk.

Author(s): Gourni Maritsa

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