Atualmente, a avaliação do clima organizacional tem sido considerada importante ferramenta de gestão nas instituições de saúde. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o clima organizacional e a sua relação com a ocorrência de acidentes de trabalho com material perfurocortante entre os profissionais de enfermagem em um hospital público de média complexidade do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Trata-se de um estudo de abordagem quantitativa, descritivo e transversal. Para a coleta de dados, foi utilizada a versão validada e adaptada para o contexto brasileiro do Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) - Short Form, denominada Questionário de Atitudes de Segurança - QAS. Por meio do QAS foi possível avaliar a percepção dos trabalhadores acerca do clima de trabalho em equipe, clima de segurança, satisfação profissional, percepção do estresse, ações da gerência quanto às questões de segurança e as condições de trabalho. As respostas foram dadas por meio da escala Likert de cinco pontos e o processamento e a análise dos dados foram realizados com o auxílio do programa Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), versão 17.0. Para relacionar o clima organizacional com a ocorrência de acidentes de trabalho, inicialmente, foi realizado levantamento junto ao Serviço Especializado de Medicina e Segurança do Trabalho - SESMT dos registros de acidentes de trabalho ocorridos no período 2008-2014 e foram identificados os trabalhadores de enfermagem vítimas desses acidentes. Após este levantamento, foram constituídos dois grupos: Grupo 1 - profissionais de enfermagem que sofreram acidentes de trabalho envolvendo perfurocortantes; Grupo 2 - profissionais de enfermagem que não sofreram acidente de trabalho com perfurocortantes. A análise dos dados foi realizada por meio de estatística descritiva com testes de comparação entre as variáveis dos grupos. A amostra do estudo foi constituída por 116 participantes, técnicos de enfermagem e enfermeiros atuantes em unidades de internação hospitalar, sendo o Grupo 1 composto por 21 participantes e o Grupo 2 composto por 95 participantes. Predominaram participantes do sexo feminino, técnicos de enfermagem e profissionais com cinco a 10 anos de atuação na instituição. A percepção dos participantes quanto ao clima organizacional foi considerada desfavorável; no entanto, foi considerada satisfação no trabalho pela maioria dos participantes. Os resultados não indicaram relação direta entre o clima organizacional e a ocorrência de acidentes com perfurocortante, mas foi possível observar que o grupo que não sofreu acidentes apresentou maior satisfação no trabalho. Considera-se que este estudo permitiu ampliar o conhecimento acerca da percepção de profissionais de enfermagem sobre o clima organizacional, contribuindo para a discussão sobre formas de melhoria da assistência segura, de redução de eventos adversos e sobre a qualidade da assistência de enfermagem / Recently, evaluation of organizational climate has been considered an important management tool in health institutions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the organizational climate and its relationship with the occurrence of accidents with needlestick materials among nursing professionals in a public hospital of medium complexity in the state of São Paulo. It is a study of quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectoral approach. The instrument Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was used - Short Form, 2006, validated and adapted version for the Portuguese language (Safety Attitudes Questionnaire - QAS). Through the areas of QAS was possible to assess attitudes about the working environment in staff, safety climate, job satisfaction, perceived stress, management actions regarding safety issues and working conditions. The answers were given by Likert scale of five points, processing and data analysis was performed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. To relate the organizational climate with the occurrence of accidents with sharps survey was carried out by the Specialized Service of Medicine and Safety - SESMT with records of work accidents in the period 2008-2014 and workers were identified nursing victims of these accidents. Constituted two groups: Group 1 - nursing professionals who were victims of work accidents involving sharps; Group 2 - nursing professionals who did not undergo occupational accidents with needlestick during the study period. After conformal groups, the data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics with correlation tests between the variables of the groups in order to analyze possible relationship between accidents and the adoption of safety measures by the professional. The study sample consisted of 116 participants, nursing technicians and nurses working in hospital units. Group 1 consisted of 21 participants and Group 2 consists of 95 participants. Predominated female participants, nursing technicians and professionals with five to 10 years of experience in this institution. The perception of the participants about the organizational climate was considered unfavorable, however it was observed that job satisfaction was evidenced by most of the participants, demonstrating how they feel during the exercise of the profession in this institution. On the relationship between organizational climate and the occurrence of accidents with needlestick materials, the results indicated no direct relationship between organizational climate and the occurrence of such accidents, however it was observed that the group that did not suffer sharps injuries was the group that presented greater job satisfaction. Thus, this study promotes the opportunity to meet the professionals\' perception of the organizational climate and can contribute to improvement of safe care, reduce adverse events and improve the quality of patient care

Because of their relative inexperience in performing procedures and handling sharps devices, medical students and resident physicians are considered to be at high risk for sharps injuries. A higher rate of sharps injuries for medical trainees implies a higher risk for occupationally-acquired infection with bloodborne pathogens and may have financial and legal implications for training institutions. This study examines the prevalence of sharps injuries among US medical students and resident physicians. A systematic review of the literature yielded 10 studies that gave data on sharps injuries for US medical students or residents, and those data were combined with data from our institution to produce pooled prevalences. Results from our institution showed that residents had a significantly higher risk of sharps injuries than medical students. While sharps injuries increased with students' years of training, residents' rates decreased with increasing level of training. Resident rates were highest in the department of Surgery and lowest for Pediatrics. Comparing pooled prevalences of US trainees revealed that residents were 6 times more likely than medical students to have a sharps injury. This information can be used by training programs to inform changes in residency training curricula and infection control policies, as well as to forecast Worker's Compensation and long-term disability insurance coverage requirements. Medical training institutions must continue to provide opportunities for students and residents to perfect their procedural skills, but at the same time, trainees must be protected from the risk of sharps injuries and exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

Bakgrund: I Sverige besöker mer än 200 000 barn akutmottagningen varje år. Där måste de ofta genomgå smärtsamma diagnostiska och behandlande procedurer. Den främmande miljön leder till att barnen upplever stress, oro och rädsla. Barn och föräldrar är överens om att nålstick och venpunktion är några av de mest stressande och smärtsamma procedurerna i samband med ett sjukhusbesök. För många barn som hamnar på sjukhus är den största rädslan att behöva få en spruta eller uppleva smärta.Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa metoder som lindrar oro och smärta hos barn vid nålstick i samband med sjukhusbesök. Metod: I litteraturstudien har 16 kvantitativa artiklar granskats och analyserats med inspiration av metasyntestänkande och beskrivande synteser har skapats. Sökningar av artiklar gjordes i databaserna Pub Med, CINAHL och Academic Search Elite. Även manuell sökning genomfördes. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre kategorier med vardera två underkategorier. Kategorier var: Psykologisk smärtlindring, Lokal smärtlindring och Trygghetsfaktorer. Slutsats: Barns oro och smärta i samband med nålstick kan lindras med olika metoder som är enkla att tillgå och har en låg kostnad. För ett lyckat nålstick är det viktigt att sjuksköterskan individanpassar valet av metod utifrån barnets ålder och utveckling.Nyckelord: Barn, smärta, oro, nålstick, venpunktion, avledning, omvårdnad, litteraturstudie. / Background: Every year more than 200 000 children make a visit to the emergency department in Sweden. Painful procedures are not unusual and the unfamiliar environment cause the children to feel stress, anxiety and fear. Both children and their parents agree that needlestick and venipuncture is one of the most stressful and painful procedures that children need to undergo during a hospital stay. When in hospital, many children’s biggest fear is to feel pain or having an injection. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to illuminate methods that can ease pain and anxiety in children undergoing needlestick during a hospital visit. Method: In this literature review sixteen quantitative articles were complied and analysed, inspired by meta-synthesis and descriptive synthesis were made. The search for articles were conducted in Pub Med, CINAHL and Academic Search Elite. Articles were also searched manually. Result: The analyse resulted in three categories with two sub-categories each. The categories were: Psychological pain relief, Local pain relief and Safety giving factors. Conclusion: The pain and anxiety children experience in association with needlestick can be eased by simple methods at a low cost. For a successful needlestick, the nurse need to choose methods based on the child’s age and mental development.Keywords: Children, pain, anxiety, needlestick, venipuncture, distraction, nursing, literature review.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-01-13T11:13:59Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Thaís de Arvelos Salgado - 2014.pdf: 1262659 bytes, checksum: f5f6c4703743d2bdb330aa4168a4b5f5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-01-13T11:14:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Thaís de Arvelos Salgado - 2014.pdf: 1262659 bytes, checksum: f5f6c4703743d2bdb330aa4168a4b5f5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-01-13T11:14:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Thaís de Arvelos Salgado - 2014.pdf: 1262659 bytes, checksum: f5f6c4703743d2bdb330aa4168a4b5f5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-15 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Most recorded accidents with biological material are related to accidents in Health Care Facilities, which are considered unhealthy environments where the group with the highest exposure is professionals in the healthcare field. However, it should be understood that, any individual who passes through a healthcare facility is exposed to biological risk. The objectives of this study were: to identify the profile of victims of accidents with biological material, occurring in healthcare facilities among those with no presumed risk; to identify the frequency and profile of accidents in this group; to classify pre and post-exposure conduct in accidents with biological material in this group. This retrospective epidemiological study was conducted based on data from two service centers and accident reporting services: Hospital for Tropical Diseases in the State of Goias, Brazil, and the Center of Reference on Worker's Health (CEREST) in the city of Goiania. The two databases were linked. This study analyzed accidents reported by workers who were not trained in healthcare practice that had accidents with biological material inside the healthcare service independent of their professional duties. The study received approval in two Ethics Committee reports, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, under protocol No. 033 / 2010, and by the IRB of the Hospital das Clinicas, Federal University of Goias, under protocol 414258/2013. There were 8,568 records of accidents with biological material recorded between 1989 and June 2012, 181 of these (2.1%) occurred in health services among those with no presumed risk. The highest frequency of accidents occurred among people between 20 and 29 years, female, and the most frequent occupation was the receptionist's office or lab, followed by administrative assistant. Needlestick accidents were most common (91.7 %) and involved a needle lumen, with higher incidence among females, and blood was the most common biological material. With regard to the circumstances of the accidents, most occurred due to inappropriate disposal of sharps, 20.1% referred to assistance activities such as recapping of needles, injections, or punctures, and material processing support procedures. Less than half of the subjects were vaccinated (49.7 %) against hepatitis B. The source patient was identified in 64 (35.6 %) cases, and of these, 43 (67.2 %) did not undergo serological testing. Post-exposure prophylaxis was recommended in 41 (22.6 %) and immunotherapy in 58 cases (32.0 %), and in 96 (53.0 %) cases completed, 74.0% indicated giving up clinical and laboratory monitoring. There were gaps in the data recorded in the notification forms, which reveals the need for professional training for the correct completion of notifications and active search for cases for follow-up. Data support the fact that healthcare facilities should have a organizational structure focused on resolution, prepared to provide care and / or refer the victim to postexposure prophylactic measures, since the office needs to be responsible for people who have accidents in their area, once the injured person, regardless of the employment relationship becomes a "victim of an accident with biological material" and in need of care, to minimize the risk of disease by taking proper preventive measures after the accident. / A maioria dos registros de acidente com material biológico é referente aos acidentes ocorridos nos Estabelecimentos Assistenciais de Saúde (EAS), que são ambientes considerados insalubres, onde o grupo de maior exposição são os profissionais da área da saúde. Entretanto compreende-se que qualquer indivíduo que transite pelos EAS está exposto ao risco biológico. Os objetivos deste estudo foram: identificar o perfil das vítimas de acidentes com material biológico ocorridos em Estabelecimentos de Assistência à Saúde entre pessoas sem risco presumido; identificar a frequência e o perfil dos acidentes nesse grupo; caracterizar as condutas pré e pós-exposição nos casos de acidentes com material biológico nesse grupo. Estudo epidemiológico retrospectivo, realizado com base de dados de duas instituições de atendimento e registro de acidente com material biológico do Estado de Goiás: Hospital de Doenças Tropicais (HDT), e o Centro de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador (CEREST) regional de Goiânia. Foi realizado olinkage dos bancos de dados. Foram analisadas as fichas de registro de acidentes com pessoas sem risco presumido que se acidentaram com material biológico em um serviço de saúde independente do exercício profissional. O estudo foi aprovado em dois Comitês de Ética em Pesquisa, o do Hospital de Doenças Tropicais, sob o protocolo nº 033/2010 e do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Goiás, sob o protocolo 414258/2013. Totalizaram 8.568 registros de acidentes com MB registrados de 1989 a junho de 2012, desses 181 (2,1%) ocorreram em serviços de saúde com pessoas sem risco presumido. A maior frequência de acidentes ocorreu com pessoas de idade entre 20 e 29 anos, do sexo feminino e ocupação de recepcionista de consultório ou laboratório, seguida de auxiliar administrativo. Os acidentes foram predominantemente percutâneos (91,7%) e envolvendo agulha com lúmen com maior ocorrência entre o sexo feminino, e o sangue foi o material biológico mais presente. Entre as circunstâncias de acidente, o maior número ocorreu pelo descarte inadequado de perfurocortantes e 20,1% se referiam a atividades assistenciais, como reencape de agulha, injeções ou punções, processamento de material e auxílio em procedimento o que evidenciou uma relação dessas pessoas com os cuidados assistenciais. Menos da metade dos sujeitos era vacinada (49,7%) contra hepatite B. O paciente-fonte foi identificado em 64 (35,6%) casos, e desses, 43 (67,2%) não realizaram testes sorológicos. A profilaxia pós-exposição foi recomendada em 41 (22,6%) casos e a imunoprofilaxia em 58 (32,0%) e de 96 (53,0%) casos concluídos, 74,0% indicava abandono do acompanhamento clínicolaboratorial. Houve falha nos registros de dados nas fichas de notificação, o que revela a necessidade de capacitação dos profissionais para o correto preenchimento das notificações e busca ativa dos casos para o acompanhamento. Os dados apontam para o fato de que os EAS devem ter uma estrutura organizacional resolutiva, preparada para providenciar e/ou encaminhar o acidentado para as medidas profiláticas pós-exposição, pois o serviço deve se responsabilizar pelo indivíduo que se acidenta nos seus espaços físicos, uma vez a pessoa acidentada, independente do vínculo trabalhista passa à condição de “vítima de acidente com material biológico” e a carecer de cuidados para a minimização diminuição do risco de adoecimento pela adoção das medidas preventivas após o acidente.

Bakgrund: När barn besöker sjukhus är det vanligt att nålrelaterade procedurer genomförs. Barn kan uppleva procedurerna obehagliga och smärtsamma. Det finns olika metoder för att minskaobehaget och smärtan, exempelvis med hjälp av trygghetsfaktorer, distraktionsmetoder och lokalsmärtlindring. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att studera effekter av omvårdnadsåtgärder i samband mednålprocedurer för att lindra procedurrelaterad smärta hos barn. Metod: En litteraturstudie där åtta kvantitativa experimentella studier med kontrollgruppundersöktes. Sökningar gjordes i databaserna Cinahl och Pubmed. Effektmåttet beskrevs medCohen’s d. Resultat: Samtliga åtta studier visade god effekt gällande distraktionsmetoder. Såpbubblor,distraktionskort samt kyla kombinerat med vibration hade hög effekt medan lokalbedövandekräm och föräldrars närvaro hade medelhög effekt. Konklusion: Ett effektivt sätt att förebygga smärta var med lokalbedövande kräm, kyla kombineratmed vibration samt distraktionsmetoder. Föräldrars närvaro och sjuksköterskans information införproceduren underlättade situationen. / Background: Children visiting hospital are often undergoing various procedures including needles. Children may experience the procedures as painful and unpleasant. There are differenttypes of measures to relieve the pain and discomfort. With topical anesthesia, safety factors anddistraction methods the pain can be relief. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of nursing measures in relation withneedle procedures to relieve procedural pain in children. Methods: A literature study in which eight quantitative experimental studies with a controlgroupwere examined. Searches were performed in Cinahl and Pubmed. The power measure wasdescribed with Cohen’s d. Results: All eight studies showed a good effect regarding distraction methods. Soap bubbles,distractioncards and cold combined with vibration had a high effect, while local anesthetic creamand parents' presence had a medium effect. Conclusion: An effective way to reduce procedural pain was to use local anesthetic cream, coldcombined with vibration and distraction methods. Parents’ presence and information from the nursebefore the procedure facilitated the situation.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2009. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 224 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2015-03-09T12:38:51Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Dulcelene de Sousa Melo - 2014.pdf: 2519714 bytes, checksum: 4f67d9c30eabd06ee38bfa5b831390e4 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2015-03-09T12:39:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Dulcelene de Sousa Melo - 2014.pdf: 2519714 bytes, checksum: 4f67d9c30eabd06ee38bfa5b831390e4 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-09T12:39:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Dulcelene de Sousa Melo - 2014.pdf: 2519714 bytes, checksum: 4f67d9c30eabd06ee38bfa5b831390e4 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-31 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás - FAPEG / INTRODUCTION: The health of workers, in their everyday work, are exposed to various risks, among which, biological. This represents a danger important to public health, which may, in addition to physical injury, have broader implications, and impact various aspects of their lives. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the personal and professional implications of exposure to biological material for healthcare workers. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative study conducted with ten workers in the healthcare field who experienced accidents with biological material and who were treated by a reference healthcare service in Goiania, Brazil. Data were collected between October and November 2012, through interviews using the critical incident technique. Data processing used the content analysis methods proposed by Bardin, with the additional aid of Atlas ti 6.0 software. The discussion of findings was presented using theoretical frameworks of complex thinking from the perspective of Edgar Morin, as well as cultural theory of risk by Douglas. RESULTS: From the narratives of those experiences, for ten healthcare workers treated by three units of reference specializing in situations of exposure to biological material, four categories of analysis emerged: personal implications; professional implications, the workplace and risk management, and reference service and risk management. The results showed great psychological distress expressed through feelings of fear of contamination of self and family, worry, despair, lack of protection, guilt, anger, insecurity, introspection, helplessness, uncertainty, and awkwardness, among others. This suffering was reflected in the three spheres of interaction, as well as relationships between exposed workers. On the other hand, some might experience the solidarity from co-workers, patients, and professionals during service, through gestures and relationships that help in coping with tensions when such a situation arises. The structures in place at work and in referral services showed contradictions in such situations: support / helplessness; commitment / disengagement; climate of security / insecurity; careful / careless; organization / disorganization, respect / disrespect; acceptance / leaving at the mercy of fate. The accident was established as the driving force for workers to pay attention to their own safety and change their routines in this context, extending this reflection not only to themselves, but for those who they interact with professionally interaction. CONCLUSION: The experiences of these workers shows antagonistic, contradictory, and complementary aspects of complex systems for the health services worker. It suggests the need for a greater appreciation and consideration of the psycho-emotional consequences experienced by workers, along with review of treatment procedures as to their effectiveness and problem solving that improve quality of life to the healthcare worker. / INTRODUÇÃO: Os trabalhadores da área da saúde, no cotidiano laboral, estão expostos a diversos riscos, dentre os quais o biológico. Esse representa um agravo de importância para a saúde pública, que pode, para além da injúria física, gerar implicações e repercussões de ordem diversas em suas vidas. OBJETIVO: Analisar as implicações pessoais e profissionais da exposição ao material biológico para o trabalhador da área de saúde. METODOLOGIA: Estudo qualitativo realizado com dez trabalhadores da área da saúde, acidentados com material biológico e atendidos pelos serviços de saúde de referência do município de Goiânia - GO. Os dados foram coletados no período entre outubro e novembro de 2012, por meio de entrevista utilizando a técnica do incidente crítico. Para o tratamento dos dados utilizou-se a análise de conteúdo proposta por Bardin, com auxílio complementar do programa Atlas ti 6.0. A discussão dos achados se deu sob vários referenciais teóricos, dentre os quais a teorias do pensamento complexo e cultural do risco. RESULTADOS: Das narrativas das experiências/vivencias, socializadas por dez trabalhadoras da área da saúde, que foram atendidas por três das unidades de referência para a assistência em situação de acidente com material biológico emergiram duas unidades temáticas: implicações pessoais e profissionais do acidente ocupacional com material biológico; o serviço de saúde e a gestão do risco. Os resultados evidenciaram grande sofrimento psíquico expresso por meio dos sentimentos de medo de contaminação para si e família, preocupação, desespero, desproteção, culpa, indignação, insegurança, introspecção, desamparo, incerteza, constrangimento, entre outros. Esse sofrimento repercutiu nas três esferas do convívio e inter-relação das trabalhadoras acidentadas. Por outro lado, puderam experienciar a solidariedade por parte de colegas de trabalho, paciente e profissional, durante o atendimento, por meio de gestos e relações que ajudam no enfrentamento das tensões que tal situação aflora. As estruturas de atendimento no local de trabalho e nos serviços de referência demonstraram a contradição em tais situações: apoio-desamparo; compromisso-descompromisso; clima de segurança-insegurança; cuidado-descuidado; organização-desorganização; respeito-desrespeito; acolhendo ou deixando-o à mercê da própria sorte. Observou-se que o acidente constitui-se como força propulsora na perspectiva de olhar para a própria segurança e alterar a rotina no contexto laboral com extensão não só para si, mas para aqueles que estão no seu convívio profissional. CONCLUSÃO: A vivencia/experiência do trabalhador evidencia aspectos antagônicos, contraditórios e complementares dos sistemas complexos: trabalhador-serviços de saúde. Sugere a necessidade de uma maior valorização e consideração dos aspectos psico-emocionais vivenciados pelos trabalhadores, revisão da linha de cuidados de atendimento quanto à sua efetividade e resolutividade que agreguem qualidade de vida ao trabalhador da área da saúde.

Background: Accidental exposure to patients’ body fluids (BFs) is an occupational hazard among health care workers (HCWs). The study aimed at describing the patterns of exposure to patients’ BFs among HCWs at a university hospital in Ethiopia. Methods: A contextual descriptive cross-sectional design was used for this study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Results: The one year and professional life prevalence of occupational exposure to patients’ BFs among HCWs was 33.5% and 66.5% respectively. Circumstances that led to participants’ exposures to patients’ BFs include needle stick injuries to fingers and splashes to the eyes (82.4%); conducting procedures included blood withdrawal (10.8%) and inserting intravenous infusions (8.1%) and recapping of used needles (12.2%). Conclusion: Findings of this study generally indicated that occupational exposures to patients’ BF of different types and circumstances were common among all categories of HCWs in the study site. This high finding of BF exposure should not be over looked. HCWs should follow the universal precaution protocol and PEP need to be strengthened / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Background: Accidental exposure to patients’ body fluids (BFs) is an occupational hazard among health care workers (HCWs). The study aimed at describing the patterns of exposure to patients’ BFs among HCWs at a university hospital in Ethiopia. Methods: A contextual descriptive cross-sectional design was used for this study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Results: The one year and professional life prevalence of occupational exposure to patients’ BFs among HCWs was 33.5% and 66.5% respectively. Circumstances that led to participants’ exposures to patients’ BFs include needle stick injuries to fingers and splashes to the eyes (82.4%); conducting procedures included blood withdrawal (10.8%) and inserting intravenous infusions (8.1%) and recapping of used needles (12.2%). Conclusion: Findings of this study generally indicated that occupational exposures to patients’ BF of different types and circumstances were common among all categories of HCWs in the study site. This high finding of BF exposure should not be over looked. HCWs should follow the universal precaution protocol and PEP need to be strengthened / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)