AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control
Volume 37, Issue 7 , Pages 525-533 , September 2009

The prevalence and risk factors for percutaneous injuries in registered nurses in the home health care sector

  • Robyn R.M. Gershon, MT, MHS, DrPH

      Affiliations

    • Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to Robyn R. M. Gershon, MT, MHS, DrPH, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, Suite 1003, New York, NY 10032.
    • ,
  • Julie M. Pearson, BA

      Affiliations

    • Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
    • ,
  • Martin F. Sherman, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychology, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
    • ,
  • Stephanie M. Samar, BA

      Affiliations

    • Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
    • ,
  • Allison N. Canton, BA

      Affiliations

    • Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
    • ,
  • Patricia W. Stone, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY

References 

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  2. National Center for Health Statistics. Table 12. Number and percentage of current home health care patients, by primary and all-listed diagnoses at admission: United States, 2000. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhhcsd/curhomecare00.pdf. Accessed July 24, 2008.
  3. Health Resources and Services Administration. What is behind HRSA's projected supply, demand, and shortage of registered nurses? Available at: ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/bhpr/workforce/behindshortage.pdf. Accessed July 24, 2008.
  4. Bureau of Labor Statistics. US Department of Labor. Industry-occupation employment matrix: home health care services industry report. Available at: http://data.bls.gov/oep/servlet/oep.nioem.servlet.ActionServlet?Action=empios&Type=Industry. Accessed July 24, 2008.
  5. Perry J, Parker G, Jagger J. Percutaneous injuries in home healthcare settings. Home Healthcare Nurse. 2001;19:342–344
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  7. Gershon RRM, Pogorzelska M, Qureshi KA, Sherman MF. Home health care registered nurses and the risk of percutaneous injuries: a pilot study. Am J Infect Control. 2007;36:165–172
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  10. Gershon RRM, Vlahov D, Felknor SA, Vesley D, Johnson PC, Delclos GL, et al. Compliance with universal precautions among health care workers at three regional hospitals. Am J Infect Control. 1995;23:225–236
  11. Gershon RRM, Karkashian CD, Grosch JW, Murphy LR, Escamilla-Cejudo A, Flanagan PA, et al. Hospital safety climate and its relationship with safe work practices and workplace exposure incidents. Am J Infect Control. 2000;28:211–221
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  13. Haiduven D, Ferrol S. Sharps injuries in the home health care setting: risks for home health care workers. AAOHN J. 2004;52:102–108
  14. Gershon RRM, Qureshi KA, Pogorzelska M, Rosen J, Gebbie KM, Brandt-Rauf PW, et al. Nonhospital based registered nurses and the risk of bloodborne pathogen exposure. Ind Health. 2007;45:1–10
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  16. Doebbeling BN, Vaughn TE, McCoy KD, Beekman SE, Woolson RF, Ferguson KJ, et al. Percutaneous injury, blood exposure, and adherence to standard precautions: are hospital-based health care providers still at risk?. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;37:1006–1013
  17. Panlilio AL, Cardo DM, Grohskopf LA, Heneine W, Ross CS. Updated US Public Health Service guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HIV and recommendations for postexposure prophylaxis. Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 2005;54(RR-09):1–17
  18. Markkanen P, Quinn M, Galligan C, Chalupka S, Davis L, Laramie A. There's no place like home: a qualitative study of the working conditions of home health care providers. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49:327–337
  19. Chalupka SM, Markkanen P, Galligan C, Quinn M. Sharps injuries and bloodborne pathogen exposures in home health care. AAOHN J. 2008;56:15–29quiz 31–12
  20. Gershon RRM, Stone PW, Zeltser M, Faucet J, Macdavitt K, Chou S. Organizational climate and nurse health outcomes in the United States: a systematic review. Ind Health. 2007;45:622–636
  21. Stone PW, Du Y, Gershon RR. Organizational climate and occupational health outcomes in hospital nurses. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49:50–58
  22. Clarke SP, Sloane DM, Aiken LH. Effects of hospital staffing and organizational climate on needlestick injuries to nurses. Am J Public Health. 2002;92:1115–1119
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  24. Stone PW, Gershon RR. Nurse work environments and occupational safety in intensive care units. Policy Polit Nurs Pract. 2006;7:240–247
  25. Kendra MA, Weiker A, Simon S, Grant A, Shullick D. Safety concerns affecting delivery of home health care. Public Health Nurs. 1996;13:83–89
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  27. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Directives: enforcement procedures for the occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Available at: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=2570. Accessed July 31, 2008.
  28. The Joint Commission. Comprehensive accreditation manual for home care. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; 1998.
  29. New York State Board of Nurses. Results of the September 2002 survey of registered professional nurses. Available at: http://www.op.nysed.gov/registered-nurses-2002-volume1.pdf. Accessed July 14, 2008.

 Supported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (5 R01 OH008215-03).

 Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agency. The authors report no conflicts of interest.

PII: S0196-6553(08)00869-9

doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2008.10.022

AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control
Volume 37, Issue 7 , Pages 525-533 , September 2009

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