title: Understanding the hospital sharps injury reporting pathway.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patient-care workers are frequently exposed to sharps injuries, which can involve the risk of serious illness. Underreporting of these injuries can compromise prevention efforts.
  
  
  METHODS
  We linked survey responses of 1,572 non-physician patient-care workers with the Occupational Health Services (OHS) database at two academic hospitals. We determined whether survey respondents who said they had sharps injuries indicated that they had reported them and whether reported injuries were recorded in the OHS database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respondents said that they reported 62 of 78 sharps injuries occurring over a 12-month period. Only 28 appeared in the OHS data. Safety practices were positively associated with respondents' saying they reported sharps injuries but not with whether reported injuries appeared in the OHS data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Administrators should consider creating reporting mechanisms that are simpler and more direct. Administrators and researchers should attempt to understand how incidents might be lost before they are recorded.
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Leslie I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Boden
authors.forename: Yolanta V
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Petrofsky
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hopcia
authors.forename: Gregory R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004869:Equipment Safety / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012308:Risk Management / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*
keywords: hospital incident reporting; occupational injuries; sharps injuries; surveillance; underreporting