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176133 Risk factors for percutaneous injuries in home healthcare registered nurses

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 9:00 AM

Robyn R.M. Gershon, DrPH , Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
Kristine Qureshi, RN, DNSc , Department of Nursing, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Martin F. Sherman, PhD , Loyola University, Baltimore, MD
Patricia W. Stone, PhD, MPH , School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, NY
Allison N. Canton, BA , Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
Stephanie Samar, BA , Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
Audio (mp3) recording Multimedia recording
Purpose: Although the acuity of care is increasing in the home healthcare sector, which is the fastest growing sector in health care, data on risk and risk factors for percutaneous injuries (PI) among registered nurses (RNs) in this setting are particularly sparse. We recently conducted a large study of PIs in a convenience sample of NYS RNs.

Method: A multi-method recruitment strategy was employed to obtain a large, representative sample of NYS RNs. A five-page paper survey was self-administered.

Results: 104 of 738 respondents reported experiencing a PI in the prior three years (a rate of 5.2% per year or 52 PIs per 1000 workers/year). Significant risk factors for PIs included: mandatory overtime (O.R. = 2.44), poor compliance with standard precautions (O.R. = 1.72), weak safety climate (O.R. = 1.88), unsafe household environments (O.R. = 1.98), threatened or experienced physical abuse (O.R. = 3.46), and actual physical abuse (O.R. = 3.91).

Conclusions: PI rates in this sample of home healthcare RNs were higher than some recent published rates for hospital RNs. Risk reduction strategies that are tailored to address unique aspects of the home care environment need to be developed, implemented and evaluated in order to reduce risk in this population.

Learning Objectives:
1. To estimate risk of PI in home healthcare RNs. 2. To identify the risk factors for PIs in home healthcare RNs. 3. To determine risk reduction strategies in this population of home healthcare workers.

Keywords: Home Care, Injuries

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator of the study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Health and Safety for Home Health Care Workers
See more of: Occupational Health and Safety