Provision and Use of Personal Protective Equipment and Safety Devices in the National Study to Prevent Blood Exposure in Paramedics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Jagger J ; Leiss, Jack K. ; Lyden JT ; Mathews R ; Ratcliffe, Jennifer M. ; Sousa S
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Paramedics are at risk for human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus infection from occupational blood exposure. This study examined how often paramedics are provided with personal protective equipment (PPE), sharps containers, and selected safety devices by their employers; the frequency with which paramedics use sharps containers and these safety devices; and paramedics' attitudes regarding this equipment. METHODS: We conducted a mail survey among a nationally representative sample of certified paramedics. California was oversampled to allow for separate estimation of proportions for this population. RESULTS: The final sample included 2588 paramedics, 720 of whom were from California (adjusted response rate, 55%). Paramedics in California were provided safety devices more often than paramedics in the United States as a whole. For each type of device, there was at least a 40% increase in use when the device was always provided compared with when it was not always provided. Eighty-four percent of paramedics thought that safety needles significantly reduce blood exposure, but substantial percentages thought that safety needles, eye protection, and masks interfere with some medical procedures. Approximately one fifth said that they need more training in the use of safety devices and PPE. CONCLUSION: Lack of access to safety devices is the major barrier to their use, and the higher rates of provision and use in California may be the result of the state's early safety needle legislation. Increased provision, training, and improvement of safety equipment are needed to better protect paramedics from blood exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Demography Emergency Responders Health Personnel Needlestick Injuries Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Demographic-characteristics Emergency-responders Health-care-personnel Needlestick-injuries Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Personal-protection Questionnaires Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-research Surveillance-programs

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• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Connecticut ; Florida ; Kentucky ; Minnesota ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania ; Tennessee ; Texas ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034963
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2008 Dec; 36(10):743-749
• Contact Point Address:
  Rahel Mathews, Center for Health Research, Constella Group, LLC, Durham, NC 27713
• Email:
  rmathews@constellagroup.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Infectious Diseases
• Performing Organization:
  Analytical Sciences, Inc., Durham, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Infection Control
• End Date:
  20040331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9b5846b7ca99ed6ae0eb958c80ae6e20c90119e61bd719990a0bd8b56467b0e7ce5b63dc06313d2df37e06d71af355b5723f5f272693cdcb3f95828379374048
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186970/cdc_186970_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 185.06 KB ]