Issues in understanding the impact of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act on hospital sharps injuries

Details

• Personal Author:
  Conaway M ; Jagger J ; Parker G ; Perry J ; Phillips EK
• Description:
  OBJECTIVE: Measuring the effect of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA) is challenging. No agreement exists on a common denominator for calculating injury rates. Does it make a difference? How are the law and safety-engineered devices related? What is the effect on injuries and costs? This study examines those issues in assessing the impact of the legislation on hospital worker percutaneous injuries. METHODS: Using a historic prospective design, we analyzed injury data from 85 hospitals. Injury rates were calculated per 100 full-time equivalents, 100 staffed beds, and 100 admissions each year from 1995 to 2005. We compared changes for each denominator. We measured the proportion of the injury rate attributed to safety-engineered devices. Finally, we estimated a national change in injuries and associated costs. RESULTS: For all denominators, a precipitous drop in injury rates of greater than one-third ([Formula: see text]) occurred in 2001, immediately following the legislation. The decrease was sustained through 2005. Concomitant with the decrease in rates, the proportion of injuries from safety-engineered devices nearly tripled ([Formula: see text]) across all denominators. We estimated annual reductions of more than 100,000 sharps injuries at a cost savings of $69-$415 million. CONCLUSIONS: While the data cannot demonstrate cause and effect, the evidence suggests a reduction in hospital worker injury rates related to the NSPA, regardless of denominator. It also suggests an association between the increase in safety-engineered devices and the reduction in overall injury rates. The decreases observed translate into significant reductions in injuries and associated costs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Men Needlestick Injuries Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Preventive Medicine Safety Safety Management Women

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• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Equipment-design Humans Injuries Medical-facilities Medical-personnel Needlestick-injuries Preventive-medicine Protective-equipment Protective-measures Safety-measures Safety-practices Statistical-analysis Workers

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• ISSN:
  0899-823X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  34
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043965
• Citation:
  Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2013 Sep; 34(9):935-939
• Contact Point Address:
  Elayne Kornblatt Phillips, RN, PhD, University of Virginia, School of Nursing, PO Box 800782, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0782
• Email:
  ekp2e@virginia.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Virginia, Charlottesville
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20080715
• Source Full Name:
  Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20120714
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b9a5798e82f014b5f77ac3d96aa76acac49a23c5dae502e7301b161921d1b1fbd7253159f6fb20d06c64cb7c93bb1fb1e704025b332a4313d7f255fdeec1f4cb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199826/cdc_199826_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 315.54 KB ]