Contamination incidents among doctors and midwives: reasons for non-reporting and knowledge of risks

Burke, Sheila; Madan, Ira

doi:10.1093/occmed/47.6.357

Cited by 46 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…From anecdotal evidence it seems that many nurses and medical doctors would rather not know their status following injury for fear of the potentially devastating impact a positive result could have on career. The other reasons for not reporting may be fear of disciplinary action due to negligence of the health care workers or the inability to influence the outcome following injury [35,36]. Health care workers may thus perceive reporting a needle stick injury as futile.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of injuries and reporting of accidents among health care workers at the University Hospital of the West Indies

Vaz

McGrowder²,

Crawford³

et al. 2010

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

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Objectives: This study investigated the knowledge, awareness and practices of health care workers towards universal precautions at the University Hospital of the West Indies. The study also examined the prevalence of injuries experienced by health care workers, as well as incidence of accidents and compliance with post-exposure prophylaxis. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted in September and October 2007. A 28-item self-administered questionnaire was provided to two hundred health care workers including medical doctors, medical technologists, nurses and porters to assess knowledge and practices regarding universal precautions, prevalence of injuries and incidence of accidents. Results: Almost two-thirds (62.3%) of the respondents were aware of policies and procedures for reporting accidents while one-third (33.2%) were unsure. All nurses were aware of policies and procedures for reporting accidents, followed by medical doctors (88%) and medical technologists (61.2%). The majority (81.5%) of the respondents experienced splashes from bodily fluid. Over three-quarters of medical doctors (78%) and two-thirds of nurses (64%) reported having experienced needle stick injuries, while the incidence among medical technologists was remarkably lower (26%). The majority of the respondents (59%) experienced low accident incidence while just over one-tenth (14%) reported high incidence. Eighty four respondents reported needle stick injuries; just under two-thirds (59.5%) of this group received post-exposure treatment. Conclusions: The study found that majority of health care workers were aware of policies and procedures for reporting accidents. Splashes from body fluids, needle stick injuries and cuts from other objects were quite prevalent among health care workers. There is a need for monitoring systems which would provide accurate information on the magnitude of needle stick injuries and trends over time, potential risk factors, emerging new problems, and the effectiveness of interventions at The University Hospital of the West Indies and other hospitals in Jamaica.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of injuries and reporting of accidents among health care workers at the University Hospital of the West Indies

Vaz

McGrowder²,

Crawford³

et al. 2010

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Alternatively, employees may consider follow up too time consuming. 10 Risk assessment and management Overall, OH staff were more consistent in assessing and managing exposures. This is not surprising; the concept of risk assessment is fundamental to OH practice, but may be alien to junior medical staff in A&E. OH staff also have more experience in managing body fluid exposures, and have more time to contact the source patient's medical team for information or to organise source patient testing.…”

Section: Main Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of hours management of occupational exposures to blood and body fluids in healthcare staff

Patel

Gawthrop²,

Snashall

et al. 2002

Occup Environ Med

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Aims: To assess and compare the out of hours and in hours management of occupational blood and body fluid exposures in a London teaching hospital. Methods: The occupational health and accident and emergency records of individuals presenting with occupational body fluid exposures over a six month period at a London teaching hospital were analysed retrospectively. Main outcome measures were the completeness of records, and the appropriate management of body fluid exposures using the Department of Health guidelines as the gold standard. Results: A total of 177 body fluid exposures were reported; 109 (61.58%) were initially assessed in the occupational health department, and 68 (38.42%) in the accident and emergency department. Of those originally assessed in the accident and emergency department, only 21 (30.88%) attended the occupational health department for follow up. Occupational health staff were more consistent in assessing and managing exposures, and in a higher proportion of cases gave more appropriate advice on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against hepatitis B and HIV. Of the 11 individuals prescribed HIV PEP (all by accident and emergency staff), only three subsequently attended occupational health for follow up. In all three cases therapy was discontinued, as the source was HIV negative or the exposure low risk. Conclusions: Out of hours management of occupational body fluid exposures, particularly the prescribing of HIV PEP, was inconsistent with in hours practice. This may also be the case in other large inner city hospitals offering a similar service.

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“…Additionally, surveillance systems are vulnerable to under-reporting and missing data, particularly if based on voluntary reports. Under-reporting of occupational injuries is well described in the literature,22 30 31 and may have introduced bias. However, high-risk injuries are less likely to be under-reported,31 32 making it less relevant to this study, which focuses on PEP-uptake behaviour in a high-risk group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Risk perception may not always be appropriate. For example, De Carli and colleagues demonstrated that HCWs failed to correctly identify the HIV status of a majority of emergency patients,42 and a number of studies have found that HCWs underestimated risks from occupational exposures to needles 21 30 43. Yet, HCWs have been shown to modify their risk behaviour according to their own perceptions of HIV transmission risk in other, but comparable situations 44.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

HIV prone occupational exposures: epidemiology and factors associated with initiation of post-exposure prophylaxis

Zenner¹,

Tomkins²,

Charlett³

et al. 2009

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

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PEP-uptake was associated with known transmission risk factors, suggesting awareness of current guidelines. The significant differences in PEP-uptake across occupation categories may be due to differential risk perceptions or other underlying factors. This is the first national study to examine PEP-uptake following occupational exposures to HIV. Further research and exploration of these findings are warranted, to understand the role of PEP-uptake behaviour in preventing occupational HIV transmission.

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Contamination incidents among doctors and midwives: reasons for non-reporting and knowledge of risks

Cited by 46 publications

References 10 publications

Prevalence of injuries and reporting of accidents among health care workers at the University Hospital of the West Indies

Prevalence of injuries and reporting of accidents among health care workers at the University Hospital of the West Indies

Out of hours management of occupational exposures to blood and body fluids in healthcare staff

HIV prone occupational exposures: epidemiology and factors associated with initiation of post-exposure prophylaxis

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