BACKGROUND Analysis of workers' compensation data and occupational health and safety trends in healthcare across Canada was conducted to provide insight concerning workplace injuries and prevention measures undertaken in the healthcare sector. METHODS Timeloss claims data were collected for 1992-2002 from the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada. Labour Force data from Statis...

OBJECTIVE Sharp injuries constitute important occupational exposure in hospital environment, and perhaps the newly graduated medical and dental students, known as House Officers, in the first twelve months of their practice, are the most vulnerable of all health workers. This study was designed to examine the nature and prevalence of occupational injuries among medical and dental house officers...

PARAMEDICS AND ED PERSONNEL FACE similar risks for blood exposures. They are both confronted by the unpredictability of the patient’s condition, and must perform a daunting variety of tasks under intense pressure. I experienced those risks firsthand as a paramedic in rural West Virginia for four years. My interest in becoming a paramedic started as a concern for my youngest daughter, who seemed...

lieve, on the basis of our studies and those of others, that self-disinfecting surfaces such as copper are an important additional tool and a significant step forward in helping to reduce the potentially infection-causing microbial bioloads that exist on clinical surfaces. Indeed, we should ask the question, why select a nonantimicrobial surface when we now know that naturally occurring metals ...

Officials from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended that hospitals and other healthcare employers adopt measures, including the use of needleless and safe-needle devices, to prevent injuries and illnesses from accidental needlesticks in the workplace. “Today’s healthcare workforce faces a multitude of risks,” said NIOSH Director Linda Rosenstock, MD, MPH....

Documentation of needlestick injuries was started in the Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore in 1993. In 1995 large sharps containers were introduced, accompanied by an intensive education programme. Details of documented injuries from 1993 to 1999 were analysed using the Epi-Info software. A total of 347 injuries occurred, mainly due to improper disposal of needles, re-capping and care...

Administrators, managers, and clinicians need to be up-to-date on all aspects of the new Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act recently passed into law. This article gives the background and foundation needed to implement policies, procedures, and actions that will assure compliance with the law and increased worker safety.