When it comes to preventing blood and body fluid exposure among healthcare workers, some hospitals have found more success than others. The study in the Journal of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare recently detailed how the 10 hospitals with the lowest blood exposure incidence rates accomplished that feat.
AOHP recently made the paper, "Proven Strategies to Reduce Blood Exposures among U.S. Healthcare Workers," available for free to the public.
Linda Good, PhD, manager of occupational health services with Scripps Health in San Diego and co-author of the study, took data from the EXPO-STOP national survey (Exposure Survey of Trends in Occupational Practice) and found the 10 hospitals with the lowest incidence rates. She interviewed them to find their strategies for blood exposure reduction. Those strategies could be distilled into four categories:
- Education and training
- Communication
- Investigation
- Engagement
"Underpinning the strategies was leadership support, and together these created a palpable 'Sharps Aware' culture that permeated each hospital," said Linda Good, PhD, RN, one of the study's authors.
"The over-arching theme in each of these 'Exposure Aware' facilities is a culture of safety that is practiced at all levels of the organization, with zero incidence being the goal," said Terry Grimmond, the study's other author.