Evaluation of Home Health Care Nurses’ Practice and Their Employers’ Policies Related to Bloodborne Pathogens

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lipscomb, Jane A. ; McPhaul KM ; Scharf BB ; Trinkoff A
• Description:
  The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess home health care nurses' exposure to bloodborne pathogens, evaluate Medicare Certified Home Healthcare Agency (MCHHA) and hospice organization practices related to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogens Standard and the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, and link the two to recommend safety improvements. This study evaluated the experiences of 355 home health care nurses and 30 MCHHA and hospice employers in one mid-Atlantic state regarding bloodborne pathogen programs and practices and blood and sharps contact. An index was developed to evaluate employer compliance with OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. Employer policies and nurse practice related to the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard did not meet all requirements despite identified risk. Thirty-eight home health care nurses from 12 of the 30 employers reported needlestick injuries within the past year, yet employers reported only 18 nurse needlestick injuries within the same year. Using the bloodborne pathogen compliance index, employers can review and revise their exposure control plans to ensure compliance. This intervention should benefit both employer policies and nurse practice to improve safety and decrease the risks from bloodborne pathogens in the home health care setting. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Blood-Borne Pathogens Delivery Of Health Care Hazardous Substances Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hematologic Diseases Needlestick Injuries Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety Safety Management Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Bloodborne-pathogens Health-care-facilities Health-care-personnel Health-hazards Injuries Injury-prevention Medical-care Medical-personnel Medical-services Needlestick-injuries Nurses Occupational-diseases Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Pathogenesis Pathogenicity Pathogens Risk-analysis Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-research Work-environment Work-performance Work-practices Worker-health Workplace-monitoring Workplace-studies

  More +
• ISSN:
  0891-0162
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  275-280
• Volume:
  57
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035751
• Citation:
  AAOHN J 2009 Jul; 57(7):275-280
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  University of Maryland, Baltimore
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040801
• Source Full Name:
  AAOHN Journal - American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Journal
• End Date:
  20090731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:19fac2dc0f968dc20bb0f46dffe13741d16552f047138d0176d41ce7fa4548f8a90249695d453a883c603e37243ee00507834c579bef2be2879298e76adfb043
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187493/cdc_187493_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.50 MB ]