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Safety : journal for the safety in the work organisation and living environment, Vol. 57 No. 4, 2015.

Professional paper

HEALTH PROTECTION OF AUXILIARY PERSONNEL IN HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS

Nataša Janev Holcer orcid id orcid.org/0000-0002-2584-6681 ; Zavod za javno zdravstvo, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Mirta Šalamun ; studentica, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Maša Petričević ; Zavod za hitnu medicinu Sisačko-moslavačke županije, Sisak, Hrvatska
Anica Sekovanić ; Opća bolnica Varaždin, Varaždin, Hrvatska
Andreja Barišin ; Hrvatski zavod za javno zdravstvo, Zagreb, Hrvatska

Full text: croatian pdf 280 Kb

page 337-346

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Abstract

Sharp object injuries are some of the most common injuries sustained by medical staff in health care institutions with risk of possible infections that may cause chronic disease and temporary or permanent work disability. The most common of all are needle stick injuries and cuts from objects used to take blood samples and those used in surgical procedures, but injuries also occur while cleaning and disposing of medical waste. An estimated million of such injuries is sustained in Europe every year. Health care workers are not the only population exposed to high risk of sharp object injuries. Auxiliary workers, such as cleaning and maintenance personnel in health care institutions, are also exposed to a great deal of risk. The monitoring of incidents and the implementation of preventive measures is the responsibility of hospital infections control committee whose work is guided by the recommendations provided by the Reference Centre for Hospital Infections at the Croatian Ministry of Health. In addition to keeping detailed records of such incidents, special importance is attached to vaccination against HBV for auxiliary personnel in health care who come in contact with potentially infective material. Mandatory monitoring of their immunity after vaccination, implementation of permanent education on the prevention of exposure incidents, and post-exposure prophylaxis are imperative. The risk of blood-borne hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV infection is not to be ignored among auxiliary personnel. Active measures are to be implemented to prevent blood-borne infections at high risk workplaces.


Keywords

auxiliary personnel; health care institutions; sharp object injuries; blood-borne infections; health protection; safety measures and rules

Hrčak ID:

155902

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/155902

Publication date:

21.12.2015.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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