Many of the more than 500,000 serious blood/body fluid exposure incidents experienced by healthcare workers (HCWs) require post-exposure follow-up. This may include psychological intervention, as recommended by the CDC. In order to improve our understanding of the impact of exposures on the mental health and well being of HCWs, we recently conducted a survey. The purpose of the survey was three-fold: (1) to characterize exposure incidents, (2) to assess the mental health effects of the exposure and the exposure management program, and (3) to identify strategies to improve the management of exposure incidents.
Using a confidential, self-administered, five-page survey, data were collected from 65 exposed hospital employees. Psychological symptoms were reported as follows: 53% anxiety, 18% insomnia, 13% depression, 10% loss of appetite, 10% sleepiness, and 10% frequent crying. Exposures resulted in marital problems, job/career changes, and interpersonal problems at work (when the exposure was caused by a co-worker’s actions). A particularly disturbing finding was that for many of the exposed HCWs, the incident reportedly “would never be over”. Many HCWs perceived a lack of help with their psychological distress. Suggestions for improvement focused on the involvement of department managers and the availability of more extensive psychological support services.
Given the seriousness and magnitude of the problem, research efforts should be focused on evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of the current post-exposure recommendations.
Learning Objectives: 1)To identify risk factors for adverse outcomes (psychological) related to post-exposure management. 2)To apply information from this study in developing psychological services for victims of needlestick injury 3)To assess the need for psychological services for exposed health care workers
Keywords: Health Care Workers, Mental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.