The impact of U.S. policies to protect healthcare workers from bloodborne pathogens: The critical role of safety-engineered devices
Received 2 October 2008; received in revised form 16 October 2008; accepted 17 October 2008.
Summary
In the United States (U.S.), federal legislation requiring the use of safety-engineered sharp devices, along with an array of other protective measures, has played a critical role in reducing healthcare workers’ (HCWs) risk of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens over the last 20 years. We present the history of U.S. regulatory and legislative actions regarding occupational blood exposures, and review evidence of the impact of these actions. In one large network of U.S. hospitals using the Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) sharps injury surveillance program, overall injury rates for hollow-bore needles declined by 34%, with a 51% decline for nurses. The U.S. experience demonstrates the effectiveness of safety-engineered devices in reducing sharps injuries, and the importance of national-level regulations (accompanied by active enforcement) in ensuring wide-scale availability and implementation of protective devices to decrease healthcare worker risk.
aInternational Healthcare Worker Safety Center, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA
bDivision of Surveillance Hazard Evaluation and Health Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Corresponding author at: International Healthcare Worker Safety Center, University of Virginia Health System, P.O. Box 800764, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. Tel.: +1 434 982 3763; fax: +1 434 982 0821.
ABSTRACT