Predictive factors for occupational bloodborne exposure in Turkish hospitals

This study was conducted to evaluate the epidemiology of percutaneous injury and/or mucosa exposure (PME) with blood or other body fluids that poses serious risks for health care workers (HCWs).

An analytic, cross-sectional, countrywide survey study was conducted to describe the extent of and predictive factors for PME among HCWs in hospital settings in Turkey, with total of 5258 HCW participants from 30 hospitals in 19 cities throughout the country.

The respondent group included 41.3% nurses, 29.0% doctors, 9.3% laboratory workers, and 20.3% paramedics. The survey found that 50.1% of the participants reported at least 1 occupational PME in the previous year. Doctors (2.57/person/year) and nurses (2.56/person/year) had the highest PME incidents. In the multivariate analysis, working at a surgical site (P = .000), being a doctor (P = .000), being a nurse (P=.000), young age (P = .025), and living in a poor region (P = .005) were significant factors for high occupational exposure. The presence of a health office for HCWs at the hospital (P = .000) and working at a university hospital (P = .003) were significant predictors of less occupational exposure. Overall, the mean number of PME incidents was 2.16/person/year.

Along with the other well-known predictive factors, regional economic status and a health office for HCWs are preventive factors for PME exposure of HCWs.