Biological risk in nursing care provided in family health units

Abstract

There is very frequent exposure to potentially contaminated material in procedures performed by nursing professionals. This exploratory and descriptive study characterizes the potential risk of biological exposure in procedures performed by nursing professionals in ten Family Health units in São Carlos-SP, Brazil. We observed 238 procedures involving potential risk of contact with biological material, in which more than 90% involved the use of needles. The average rates of adherence to standard precautions were: 27.9% hand washing prior to procedures; 41.4% use of gloves; and 88.8% adequate disposal of piercing and cutting instruments. These professionals are subject to risks similar to those which hospital workers are also subjected, because they have a high risk of blood exposure and the frequency with which they handle needles is very high.Descriptors: Nursing; Occupation Risks; Exposure to Biological Agents. Situaciones de riesgo biológico presentes en la asistencia de enfermería en las unidades de salud de la familia (USF)La exposición a material potencialmente contaminado es frecuente en las actividades del profesional de enfermería. Este estudio, de carácter exploratorio y descriptivo con abordaje cuantitativo, tuvo como objetivo caracterizar los riesgos potenciales de exposición biológica en las acciones desarrolladas por los profesionales de enfermería en diez USFs del municipio de Sao Carlos, SP. Fueron observados 238 procedimientos con posible riesgo de contacto con material biológico, siendo que más de 90% de estos envolvían el uso de agujas. Previo al procedimiento, la tasa promedio general de adhesión a las precauciones estándar fue de 27,9% en el lavado de manos, 41,4% en el uso de guantes y de 88,8% en el descarte adecuado de material punzo cortante. Se concluye que esos profesionales están sujetos a riesgos semejantes a los encontrados en el área hospitalaria, una vez que también manipulan agujas con mucha frecuencia y poseen alto riesgo de exposición la sangre.

Internação domiciliar: risco de exposição biológica para a equipe de saúde

“…However, non-adherence to glove use and inappropriate disposal of lancets need to be addressed. A study conducted in Family Health Units in the same region corroborates these findings, reporting the use of lancets in 100% of the cases, appropriate disposal in 66.7% and the use of gloves in only 30.3% of the cases (17) .…”

“…Deciding how to clean hands (soap, antiseptic soap or alcohol) should take into account the type of contact, degree of contamination, the patient's conditions and procedure(s) to be performed (22) . However, despite the many ways available to wash hands, studies show that health workers respond in a dissatisfying manner to hand washing recommendations (7,17) ; they fail to perform hand washing in 60% of the occasions it is indicated as needed (22) .…”

Is vaccination against hepatitis B a reality among Primary Health Care workers?

“…This work process determines different occupational health risks that can lead to workers' physical and/or mental illness, including biological risks (10)(11)(12) . Hence, adherence to vaccination against hepatitis B should be considered in the context of FHS workers' healthdisease process, including the study of variables that can be associated with different health behaviors, such as sociodemographic, lifestyle, health condition and occupational variables.…”

Adherence to precautions for preventing the transmission of microorganisms in primary health care: a qualitative study

“…Another study demonstrated that in a PHC setting hand hygiene was rarely performed before care, ranging from 8% to 53.3% depending on the type of procedure; and after procedures such as capillary blood glucose monitoring only in 20% of instances. In intravenous medication administration, 53.3% washed hands prior to the procedure and 27.3% after that [27]. Nonetheless, this low compliance does not seem to be restricted to Brazil or indeed other low-middle income countries.…”