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Abstract
The hepatitis B risk for hospital employees is a function of their own prior experience
with this disease and their frequency of exposure to patient blood, plus characteristics
of the hospital's patient population, services, and prevention policies. Assessment
of the hospital's risk includes consideration of costs associated with employee cases
of hepatitis B, employee turnover rates, frequency of exposure incidents, and costs
for preexposure and postexposure hepatitis B prevention policies. Benefits occur for
both employee and hospital when the risk of hepatitis B transmission is minimized.
Each institution must remember that it does not operate in isolation; its policies
will be compared to those of other health care organizations. Participation in community
efforts to develop local standards is advisable, but administrators should also recognize
the possibility of having unique groups of high-risk employees in their own hospital.
Analysis of each of the twelve issues will provide hospital decision-makers with information
needed to select appropriate hepatitis B prevention strategies for their institution.
This information should help in the development of a plan that will balance the costs
and benefits of hepatitis B vaccine and, at the same time, protect employees from
this occupational health problem.
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© 1984 Published by Elsevier Inc.
