Authors
Cunningham-TR; Sinclair-RC; Harney-AMG; Smallwood-SW; Christianson-AL
Source
J Commun Healthcare 2010 Dec; 3(3-4):164-184
Abstract
Injuries from medical sharps devices and blood-borne pathogen (BBP) exposure are a significant risk to many healthcare workers. Risk awareness communications and sharps safety strategies are key components of BBP exposure prevention efforts. The research reported here includes an evaluation of a large-scale communication intervention aimed at raising awareness among healthcare workers regarding the risks of sharps injuries and BBP exposure, as well as methods of prevention. The Stop Sticks campaign was a multi-media communication intervention targeted at multiple healthcare facilities in Columbia, South Carolina. Following a comprehensive needs assessment in each facility, tailored communications were delivered via several channels. Samples included individual hospital departments, an entire hospital, and a nursing home. Results indicate high levels of knowledge and communication channel recall, minimal attitude and behavior change, and a strong association between sharps-related safety behavior and safety climate. Overall, this research suggests the blitz approach is viable for raising awareness of occupational safety and health issues. Based on these findings, several recommendations are offered for conducting safety campaigns in healthcare facilities.
Keywords
Education; Safety-measures; Needlestick-injuries; Health-care-personnel; Nurses; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Medical-personnel; Bloodborne-pathogens; Disease-prevention; Disease-transmission; Training; Risk-analysis; Risk-factors; Exposure-assessment; Health-protection; Occupational-hazards; Occupational-health-programs; Occupational-safety-programs; Occupational-exposure; Medical-equipment; Health-care-facilities; Attitude; Behavior-patterns;
Author Keywords: blood-borne pathogen (BBP) exposure; healthcare; needlestick; sharps; safety climate; safety communication intervention
Contact
Thomas R. Cunningham, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4746 Columbia Parkway, MS C-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
Document Type
Journal Article
Email Address
TCunningham@cdc.gov
Source Name
Journal of Communication in Healthcare