Needlestick and other potential blood and body fluid exposures among health care workers in British Columbia, Canada.
BACKGROUND
Health care workers have high risk of exposure to human blood and body fluids (BBF) from patients in acute care and residents in nursing homes or personal homes.


METHODS
This analysis examined the epidemiology for BBF exposure across health care settings (acute care, nursing homes, and community care). Detailed analysis of BBF exposure among the health care workforce in 3 British Columbian health regions was conducted by Poisson regression modeling, with generalized estimating equations to determine the relative risk associated with various occupations.


RESULTS
Acute care had the majority of needlestick, sharps, and splash events with the BBF exposure rate in acute care 2 to 3 times higher compared with nursing home and community care settings. Registered nurses had the highest frequency of needlestick, sharps, and splash events. Laboratory assistants had the highest exposure rates from needlestick injuries and splashes, whereas licensed practical nurses had the highest exposure rate from sharps. Most needlestick injuries (51.3%) occurred at the patient's bedside. Sharps incidents occurred primarily in operating rooms (26.9%) and at the patient's bedside (20.9%). Splashes occurred most frequently at the patient's bedside (46.1%) and predominantly affected the eyes or face/mouth. The majority of needlestick/sharps injuries occurred during use for registered nurses, during disposal for licensed practical nurses, and after disposal for care aides.


CONCLUSIONS
The high risk of BBF exposure for some occupations indicates there is room for improvement to reduce BBF exposure by targeting high-risk groups for prevention strategies.
Alamgir
Hasanat
H
Statistics and Evaluation Department, Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. hasanat@ohsah.bc.ca
Cvitkovich
Yuri
Y
Astrakianakis
George
G
Yu
Shicheng
S
Yassi
Annalee
A
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001826:Body Fluids; D001955:British Columbia; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D005260:Female; D006268:Health Facilities; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018570:Risk Assessment