Sharps Injuries Among Hospital Workers in Massachusetts: Findings from the Massachusetts Sharps Injury Surveillance System, 2016, 2017, 2018

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  The number of sharps injuries reported by all MDPH licensed hospitals in Massachusetts remained steady between 2016 and 2018 with 2,908 sharps injuries (SI) reported in 2016, 3,010 SI reported in 2017, and 2,938 SI reported in 2018. The SI rate for workers in all hospitals fluctuated slightly from 16.1 SI per 100 licensed beds in 2016 to 17.0 per 100 licensed beds in 2017 to 16.6 per 100 licensed beds in 2018. These rates were similar to rates since 2010 (Figure 1). Comparable findings were noted in rates for employees (per full time employee equivalents) in acute care hospitals only (Figure 2). These findings suggest that the earlier observed decline in rates from 2002-2010 is leveling off and underscore the need for a continuing commitment to preventing sharps injuries. Hospitals, in interpreting their own sharps injury rates, need to understand employee reporting practices in their facilities. In 2018, nurses reported more injuries than any other occupation group (Tables 2 and 10). This is in contrast to 2016 and 2017, where physicians reported more injuries than any other occupation group. It is however, similar to patterns seen from 2002-2010, where nurses accounted for the most injuries. Consistently in all three years, nurses in small and medium sized hospitals reported more injuries than physicians, while in large hospitals physicians account for the greatest number of sharps injuries. This difference by hospital size may reflect differences in types of procedures conducted (e.g., more surgery in larger hospitals). Consistently across all three years, half of all SI occurred with devices lacking sharps injury prevention features (Table 5). When adjusting for suture needles, the percentage remains high with 37% of injuries involving devices lacking sharps injury prevention features in each of the three years. This distribution varied by device, with suture needles and scalpels accounting for the largest percentage of devices without sharps injury prevention features (Figure 3). Winged steel needles and vacuum tube collection sets had the smallest percentage of injuries with devices lacking sharps injury prevention features (Figure 3). In accordance with 105 CMR 130.1001 et seq, hospitals are required to use devices with sharps injury prevention features as a means of minimizing the risk of injury to healthcare workers from needles and other sharps. This high percentage of injuries involving sharps with engineered sharps injury protections (SESIPs) likely reflects high uptake of SESIPs as required, but also underscores the importance of evaluating SESIPs currently being used in order to identify opportunities for using more protective devices as well as the need to use administrative and work practice controls (e.g., using alternative methods to deliver medication). Regular evaluation of devices is necessary in order to select and implement devices that are most effective at preventing injuries. While injuries in operating and procedure rooms account for the greatest number of injuries in all three years (44% in 2017, 45% in 2016 and 2018), followed by inpatient units (excluding intensive care units) (20%, 21%, 22%), and the emergency department (10%, 9%, 9%) (Tables 2 and 11). Hospitals are encouraged to evaluate the devices used and work-practices in these areas to identify any patterns for targeting prevention efforts. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Health Personnel Needlestick Injuries Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Health Care Workers Injury Prevention Needlestick Injuries Nurses Occupational Exposure Physicians Protective Measures Sharps Surveillance
• Publisher:
  Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-30
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061424
• Citation:
  Boston, MA: Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2020 Sep; :1-30
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health - Boston
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Sharps injuries among hospital workers in Massachusetts: findings from the Massachusetts Sharps Injury Surveillance System, 2016, 2017, 2018
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d5a590a360ea654df9c9a2cb828b0e4263d2a7a58a16006649a4bbacfbeac6e707b25cda1aa652eb90804a333447e1acad82ffe22205542371bfd468d6ac8865
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224958/cdc_224958_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.21 MB ]