A 7min video on Sharps Injuries in USA

How many sharps injuries occurred to US Healthcare workers in 2015 and how do we prevent them?

At the Association for the Healthcare Environment annual conference in Pittsburg last year, I was asked if I would do a brief video on sharps injuries.

I jumped at the offer (of course)  and spoke on the EXPO-STOP survey that Dr Linda Good and I conduct annually for the Association of Occupational Health Professionals (AOHP).

The 2015 data showed that:

  • Approximately 1,000 HCW sustan a sharps injury DAILY
  • 40% of reported sharps injuries  were from nurses, 35% doctors; and 2-4% were environmental services staff
  • Of EVS staff, the two main causes were (I) handling sharps containers (ii) improper disposal of sharps (left on floor, bed, table, etc)
  • Four prevention strategies were:
    • Helping your institution become more sharps aware
    • Using safety engineered devices more frequently and more correctly
    • Training staff until they are competent in the use of that device/procedure
    • Investigating EVERY sharps injury
  • Thanks to AHE, if you would like to use the video in your training sessions click here.

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