Work

Risk of Sharps Injuries to Home Care Nurses and Aides

Year: 2017

Type: article

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate all available literature and develop a pooled estimate of the risk of sharps injuries (SI) among home care (HC) nurses and aides. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted and relevant articles were reviewed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Primary outcome data from studies identified by the systematic review were pooled using a random effects model to calculate a summary measure of SI risk for nurses and for aides. RESULTS: Five articles were included in the final analysis. Nurses had a 5.25% weighted average risk of experiencing at least one SI in the past year while working in HC (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.11% to 7.40%); aides pooled SI risk was 1.74% (95% CI: 0.72% to 2.77%). CONCLUSIONS: Combining findings of all available studies demonstrates that there is a serious risk of SI among both the HC nurses and aides.

Source: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

DOI: 10.1097/jom.0000000000001160

Authors: Natalie M. Brouillette, Margaret M. Quinn, David Kriebel

Institution: University of Massachusetts Lowell

Language: English

Topic: Infection Control in Healthcare

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health