The National Study to Prevent Blood Exposure in Paramedics: Exposure Reporting

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boal, Winifred L. ; Jagger J ; Leiss, Jack K. ; Li J ; Lyden JT ; Sousa S
• Description:
  Background: This survey was conducted to provide national incidence rates and risk factors for exposure to blood among paramedics. The present analysis assesses reporting of exposures to employers. Methods: A questionnaire was mailed in 2002-2003 to a national sample of paramedics selected using a two-stage design. Information on exposure reporting was obtained on the two most recent exposures for each of five routes of exposure. Results: Forty-nine percent of all exposures to blood and 72% of needlesticks were reported to employers. The main reason for under-reporting was not considering the exposure a "significant risk." Females reported significantly more total exposures than males. Reporting of needlesticks was significantly less common among respondents who believed most needlesticks were due to circumstances under the worker's control. Reporting was non-significantly more common among workers who believed reporting exposures helps management prevent future exposures. Reporting may have been positively associated with workplace safety culture. Conclusions: This survey indicates there is need to improve the reporting of blood exposures by paramedics to their employers, and more work is needed to understand the reasons for under-reporting. Gender, safety culture, perception of risk, and other personal attitudes may all affect reporting behavior. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Blood-Borne Pathogens Demography Emergency Responders Health Personnel Hematologic Diseases Needlestick Injuries Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Paramedics Bloodborne-pathogens Blood Exposure Demographic-characteristics Emergency-responders Exposure-levels Health-care-personnel Needlestick Needlestick-injuries Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Occupational Health Paramedical-services Prehospital Questionnaires Risk-factors Surveillance-programs Survey Under-reporting Work-environment Work-operations Work-practices Workplace-monitoring Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  213-222
• Volume:
  51
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033405
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2008 Mar; 51(3):213-222
• Contact Point Address:
  WL Boal, NIOSH, Div Surveillance Hazard Evaluat & Field Studi, Surveillance Branch, 4676 Columbia Pkway,R-17, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  wboal@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  Constella Group, LLC, Durham, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20040929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c53b94c3fa684f739ec57185a3576c98636b7a0f5d0aee34f8217dbf991501c6405b1d2265df76caa0c628df3852e6de96b0ef78c37166af917df31442d812c8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188998/cdc_188998_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 119.36 KB ]