Understanding the hospital sharps injury reporting pathway.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patient-care workers are frequently exposed to sharps injuries, which can involve the risk of serious illness. Underreporting of these injuries can compromise prevention efforts.

Methods

We linked survey responses of 1,572 non-physician patient-care workers with the Occupational Health Services (OHS) database at two academic hospitals. We determined whether survey respondents who said they had sharps injuries indicated that they had reported them and whether reported injuries were recorded in the OHS database.

Results

Respondents said that they reported 62 of 78 sharps injuries occurring over a 12-month period. Only 28 appeared in the OHS data. Safety practices were positively associated with respondents' saying they reported sharps injuries but not with wh

SUBMITTER: Boden LI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5077298 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature