Rates of exposure to patient blood among Home Care and Hospice Nurses: Results from The North Carolina Study of Home Care and Hospice Nurses

Approximately 200,000 US home care nurses are at risk of infection from blood-borne pathogens through exposure to patients' blood. Little is known about their estimated risk of blood exposure or current prevention practices. The objective of this poster is to estimate the incidence of occupational blood exposure experienced by The North Carolina Study of Home Care and Hospice Nurses, the first state-wide study of blood exposure in home care nurses.

Data were collected by mail survey. Eligible nurses made at least 6 home visits/week. Nurses were asked about workplace characteristics, employment status, work history, use and availability of Personal Protective Equipment and safety devices, and blood exposure incidents. For each incident, they were asked about route of exposure (needle/lancet stick; blood in eyes, nose, or mouth; or blood on non-intact skin), body part exposed, circumstances contributing to the exposure, and whether the incident was reported.

1,143 (62%) nurses returned questionnaires. Over 30% had <5 years experience as HHNs, and 43.8% had 10+ years; 10% made 6-10 home visits a week, whereas 20% made >30 visits.

There were 73 non-intact skin exposures, 27 eyes/nose/mouth exposures, and 26 needlestick exposures. Incidence rates will be presented by route of exposure and selected characteristics.

Conclusions:

Results will be applicable to a wide audience, including practicing nurses, administrators of home care and hospice agencies, public health researchers, and policy makers. Researchers and policy makers can use these results to evaluate the impact of OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard on preventing blood exposure among HHNs.