Temporal trends in occupational accidents involving exposure to biological material in Brazil, 2010 to 2016

Abstract

Introduction: Accidents involving biological material are the main cause of occupational exposure among health care professionals. Objectives: To analyze trends in the number of accidents involving exposure to biological material among health care workers in Brazil, in the period of 2010 to 2016. Methods: This was an ecological study based on secondary data on occupational accidents involving biological material reported to the Information System for Notifiable Diseases (Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação). The data were analyzed using descriptive methods, followed by a calculation of incidence rates per 1,000 workers per year. Lastly, trend analysis was performed using Prais-Winsten regression. Results: A total of 243,621 accidents involving exposure to biological materials were reported among health professionals in the study period. The highest incidence rate (16.74 accidents per 1,000 workers per year) was observed in 2014. Regional analyses showed that Midwestern, South and Southeast Brazil had higher incidence rates than other regions of the country. At the state level, the highest rates were observed in Roraima, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina. National incidence rates of occupational accidents with exposure to biological material in health care workers had a stable trend over the study period. Conclusions: In Brazil, health care workers are disproportionately affected by occupational accidents with exposure to biological material. The present findings, together with other indicators, cast doubt on the stability of these figures over time.

Temporal trend of accidents due to percutaneous exposure in a public hospital in Brazil, 2007-2019

“…It is also worth noting that the decline in rates occurred in a period when there was an improvement in accident records in Brazil ( 20 ) , and this fact may have acted as a reducer of the effect of PCMs. A study that evaluated the temporal trends of all OAEBM categories in Brazilian states, from 2010 to 2016, revealed a trend in the increase in accident rates among health workers, as a consequence of actions to combat underreporting and number of health professionals registered in each state ( 25 ) .…”

“…However, most of these works are restricted to cross-sectional studies, with a short period of analysis of accident rates. In addition, there is the use of information from the Information System on Notifiable Diseases (SINAN), which has a high percentage of incomplete data ( 10 ) . In this regard, to date, there are few studies in the literature on the analysis of the historical series of percutaneous accidents and with a longitudinal follow-up of the incidence over ten years in hospitals.…”

Acidente Com Material Biológico Em Um Hospital Universitário No Rio De Janeiro

“…Embora diversas medidas de biossegurança estejam disponíveis, observa-se que ainda existe um número preocupante de exposições ocupacionais envolvendo várias categorias da saúde. As evidências científicas apontam a equipe de enfermagem como a categoria mais atingida (5)(6)(7) .…”

Tendência temporal dos acidentes por exposição percutânea em um hospital público no Brasil, 2007-2019

“…Ainda, cabe ressaltar que o declínio das taxas ocorreu em um período que houve a melhoria dos registros dos acidentes no Brasil (20) , e esse fato pode ter atuado como um redutor de efeito das MCPs. Um estudo que avaliou as tendências temporais de todas as categorias de ATEMB nos estados brasileiros, no período de 2010 a 2016, revelou uma tendência no aumento das taxas de acidentes em trabalhadores de saúde, como consequência das ações de combate à subnotificação e número de profissionais de saúde cadastrados em cada estado (25) .…”