Exposure to certain bloodborne pathogens can prematurely end a person’s life. Healthcare workers (HCWs), especially those who are members of surgical teams, are at increased risk of exposure to these pathogens. The proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during operative/invasive procedures reduces that risk. Despite this, some HCWs fail to consistently use PPE as required by federal regulation, accrediting agencies, hospital policy, and professional association standards. The purpose of this mixed methods survey study was to (a) examine factors surgical team members perceive influence choices of wearing or not wearing PPE during operative/invasive procedures and (b) determine what would influence consistent use of PPE by surgical team members. Using an ex post facto, non-experimental design, the memberships of five professional associations whose members comprise surgical teams were invited to complete a mixed methods survey study. The primary research question for the study was: What differences (perceptual and demographic) exist between surgical team members that influence their choices of wearing or not wearing PPE during operative/invasive procedures? Four principal differences were found between surgical team members. Functional (i.e., profession or role based) differences exist between the groups. Age and experience (i.e., time in profession) differences exist among members of the groups. Finally, being a nurse anesthetist influences the use of risk assessment to determine the level of PPE to use. Four common themes emerged across all groups informing the two study purposes. Those themes were: availability, education, leadership, and performance. Subsidiary research questions examined the influence of previous accidental exposure to blood or body fluids, federal regulations, hospital policy and procedure, leaders’ attitudes, and patients’ needs on the use of PPE. Each of these was found to strongly influence surgical team members and their use of PPE during operative/invasive procedures. Implications based on the findings affect organizational policy, purchasing and distribution decisions, curriculum design and instruction, leader behavior, and finally partnership with PPE manufacturers. Surgical team members must balance their innate need to care for patients with their need to protect themselves. Results of this study will help team members, leaders, and educators achieve this balance.

In 2015 Dr. Pratiksha Vaghela started the “Stop Poking Me” campaign which was aimed at curbing the increase in the number of needlesticks at the James A. Haley Veteran Affairs Hospital (JAHVA). The data for needlesticks was collected by the Occupational Medicine Clinic (OMC) between Oct 2013 and Oct 2016. We then obtained the original data from Dr. Vaghela’s project and compared the data to assess whether the new implementations have truly decreased the number of needlesticks. There was a 23.6% reduction in the number of needlesticks between 2013 and 2016 and even more importantly a 60.1% reduction between 2015 and 2016. Our project shows that the decrease correlates to the implementation of the “Stop Poking Me” campaign.

Medical trainees (medical students and resident physicians) are at high risk of sharps injury (needlestick injury). High rates of sharps injury in this population and the risk incurred by exposure to bloodborne pathogens poses a threat both to medical trainees who are at risk for bloodborne pathogen exposure and to training institutions for legal and financial reasons. This study examines the prevalence of sharps injuries in medical trainees at the University of South Florida and compares that to data on sharps injuries in US medical trainees. Data from the present study was compared to previously collected USF medical trainee sharps injury data. Results from this study demonstrated that residents had higher rates of sharps injury than medical students. A prior USF study of similar data from academic years 2002-2008 had similar findings. This study demonstrated a peak in sharps injury rate in first year residents, similar to the prior USF study. Resident rates remained highest in Surgery and lowest for Psychiatry and Pediatrics. This information can be used to focus hazard analysis and risk reduction efforts at USF Health. This data can also be combined with the known efficacy of simulated training experience should encourage increased use of USF’s center for advanced medical simulation (CAMLS) to increased procedural experience in medical students and junior residents and decrease their exposure to bloodborne pathogens by increasing knowledge and procedural safety.

Bakgrund: Blodburen smitta sprids genom blod, blodtillblandade kroppsvätskor eller via blodprodukter. De mest framträdande blodburna smittorna är hiv, hepatit B och C och dessa klassas som allmänfarliga sjukdomar. Miljontals människor lever med hiv, hepatit B och C världen över. Inom vården är stick- och skärskador samt återanvänt engångsmaterial de som utgör de vanligaste smittoriskerna. Bland vårdpersonal råder det delade meningar om hur de upplever att det är att vårda patienter med blodburen smitta. Syfte: Att beskriva hur patienter med blodburen smitta (hiv, hepatit B och C) upplever bemötandet inom vården. Metod: En litteraturstudie med deskriptiv design baserad på tio vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats och en artikel med mixad ansats. Samtliga artiklar söktes i sökmotorn PubMed via databasen Medline. Huvudresultat: Resultaten från artiklarna visade att vårdpersonalens bemötande hade bidragit till att deltagarna känt sig stigmatiserade och stämplad i mötet med vården. Deltagarna hade upplevt vårdpersonalens rädsla för att själva bli smittad, vilket påverkade bemötandet negativt. Resultatet påvisade att känslig information hade avslöjats för obehöriga personer och deltagarna upplevde bemötandet som respektlöst då sekretessen inte upprätthölls. Okunskap om blodsmittor, bristande information, dålig respons på deltagarnas frågor samt att diagnoser hade överlämnats på fel sätt framkom även i resultatet. Av resultatet uppenbarade sig också att en del deltagarna i studierna hade känt sig jämlik behandlad av vårdpersonalens goda bemötande. Slutsats: Det har visat sig att deltagarna upplever stigmatiserande attityder, bristande kunskap samt att vårdpersonalen i deras bemötande uppvisar en rädsla för att själva bli smittad. Rädsla kan uppstå till följd av okunskap. Genom att förbättra vårdpersonalens kunskap om blodburna smittor skulle detta kunna bidra till att vårdpersonal blir mer säkra i vårdandet av patienter med blodsmitta. Detta skulle kunna främja att patienterna får en bättre upplevelse av bemötandet inom vården och att omvårdnaden skulle kunna bli bättre. / Background: Blood-borne infection is spread through blood, blood-mixed body fluids or through blood products. The most prominent blood-borne infections are HIV, hepatitis B and C and these are classified as general dangerous diseases. Millions of people live with HIV, hepatitis B and C worldwide. In healthcare, sharps injuries and recycled disposable materials are the most common risks of infection. There are divided opinions among healthcare professionals about how they feel about caring for patients with blood-borne infections. Aim: To describe how patients with bloodborne pathogens (HIV, hepatitis B and C) experience the treatment in healthcare. Method: A literature study with descriptive design based on ten scientific articles with a qualitative approach and one article with mixed methods. All articles were searched in the search engine PubMed through the database Medline. Results: The results from the articles showed that the healthcare personnel attitudes in treatment of the participants contributed to feeling stigmatized and stamped in the meeting with care. The participants had experienced the healthcare personnel fear of themselves being infected, which affected the treatment negatively. The results showed that sensitive information had been revealed to unauthorized persons and the participants experienced the treatment as disrespectful because confidentiality was not maintained. Ignorance about blood infections, shortage of information, poor response to the participants' questions and that diagnoses had been submitted incorrectly also appeared in the results. The result appeared that some participants in the studies had felt equal treatment from health professionals with a good attitude. Conclusion: It has been shown that participants feel stigmatizing attitudes, lack of knowledge and the caregivers in their treatment have a fear of becoming infected themselves. Fear can arise as a result of ignorance. By improving the caregivers' knowledge of blood-borne infections, this could contribute to healthcare professionals becoming more secure in the care of patients with bloodborne infections. This could promote that the patients get a better experience of the treatment in the care and that the nursing could be better.

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.