Nonhospital workers and bloodborne pathogens
In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health assessed the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens among nonhospital-based registered nurses (RNs), and found that nearly one out of 10 of the more than 1,100 nurse participants reported at least one needlestick injury in the previous 12 months.
"These rates of exposure are surprising since they are similar to rates reported for hospital-based nurses, even though hospitalized patients generally have high levels of acuity of patient care i.e., more procedures, including more invasive procedures than are typically performed in community health care settings," says Robyn Gershon, DrPH, principal investigator and professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health. These findings are not completely unexpected since patient care, including more complex types of care, is increasingly delivered at nonhospital-based health care facilities, including patients' homes, points out Gershon.
The authors note that increasingly complex procedures, many of which involve needles and other sharp instruments, are being performed, primarily by well-trained registered nurses, in these nonhospital settings, thereby increasing the potential risk of exposure. The population at risk is large, since nonhospital-based nurses represent a substantial portion of the overall nursing work force; approximately 40% of the 2.3 million RNs in the United States are employed in nonhospital settings. Extrapolated to the entire nonhospital-based RN work force in the United States, the authors estimate that the annual number of needlesticks in the nonhospital RN work force may be in excess of 145,000 per year. They also found that 70% of the exposed nurses were never seen by a health care provider, even though appropriate and timely follow-up of these incidents can reduce the risk of infection.
Findings from the study also suggest that many of the exposed nurses may be at increased risk of infection of serious bloodborne pathogens, such as the HIV, hepatitis C virus, and hepatitis B virus, as only 65% of these serious exposures were ever formally reported to the nurse's administrator. Fear of getting into trouble, not having enough time to report, and not knowing how to report an exposure were the three most common reasons given for not reporting.
"These exposures place them at risk of potential infection; therefore, efforts to facilitate adequate post-exposure care must be made by administrators. Fortunately, rapid access to post- exposure care may significantly help reduce the risk of infection," says Gershon.
The study also provided information regarding the risk factors associated with these exposures, which have been well categorized for the hospital-based work force. The researchers found similar risk factors in the nonhospital-based nurses, including heavy patient loads, long working hours, poor safety climate, inadequate training. and lack of safety devices.
"While the risk factors may be similar for both hospital-based and nonhospital-based registered nurses, there are numerous barriers to effective infection control and safety programs in nonhospital settings," remarks Gershon.
A large proportion (about one-third) of nonhospital RNs work in establishments with fewer than 100 employees, and a sizable percentage (16%) work in establishments with fewer than five employees. "As a result, many of these facilities lack on-site infection control and employee health programs," she observes. "With nearly 900,000 registered nurses employed in a wide range of nonhospital settings, and patient prevalence rates for certain bloodborne pathogens similar or even higher in nonhospital based settings, it is important to develop and implement targeted risk reduction strategies that are tailored to these unique nonhospital settings." As the authors note, "Clearly, it is best to eliminate these types of exposures in the first place. In fact, participatory action teams, which were formed as part of the study, identified several risk reduction strategies, with an emphasis on improved availability of safety devices to help eliminate or reduce the risk of injury."
Findings of the study are published in the December 2007 issue of Industrial Health.
In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health assessed the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens among nonhospital-based registered nurses (RNs), and found that nearly one out of 10 of the more than 1,100 nurse participants reported at least one needlestick injury in the previous 12 months.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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