ARTICLESHealth care workers’ experience with postexposure management of bloodborne pathogen exposures: A pilot study*,**
Section snippets
Methods
A confidential, self-administered, 5-page survey was developed to collect information from HCWs who had recently reported a blood/body fluid exposure incident to the hospital’s employee health department. The 115-item survey contained items on demographics (eg, sex, age, department, occupation, and length of tenure), the type and risk factors for exposure (eg, type of sharps device in use, type of personal protective equipment in use, and type of activity during the exposure incident), and
Demographic information
Most of the respondents were women (68%) and were nurses (29%) or house/medical staff members (39%). The mean age of the respondents was 35 years (range 23-65), and they had an average of 6 years of tenure at their present job. Six percent of the respondents were supervisors. Most of the respondents (97%) reported direct patient contact. The demographic profile of respondents is summarized in Table 1.Variable n % Sex Male 20 32 Female 43 68
Discussion
Exposed HCWs want and deserve fast, compassionate, and knowledgeable postexposure care. It is important to recognize than an exposure incident may trigger an acute stress reaction in the exposed HCW. This type of reaction is typical after experiencing traumatic events, and it initially includes feelings of disbelief, fear, and anger followed by a combination of avoidance and reliving the experience.15 Eventually, for most persons, the event may then be resolved.16 For some persons, however,
Conclusion
Generally, persons conducting research in this particular area of occupational health and safety do not have the opportunity to talk with exposed HCWs because of the necessity to maintain patient confidentiality. However, qualitative input from exposed HCWs can be incredibly valuable in developing new risk-reduction strategies. Clearly, this type of information is important to any health facility’s risk management program. By using a confidential survey, both researchers and administrators can
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Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Cooperative Agreement # U60/CCU312197-03.
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Reprint requests: Dr Robyn Gershon, The Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 600 West 168th St, 5th floor, New York, NY 10032-3702.