Occupational exposures to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids is a major risk factor for the transmission of blood-borne infections to healthcare workers. There are several primary studies in Ethiopia yet they might not be at the national level to quantify the extent of occupational blood and body fluid exposures (splash of blood or other body fluids into the eyes, nose, or mouth) or blood contact with non-intact skin among the healthcare workers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of occupational blood and body fluid exposure of healthcare workers in Ethiopia. Methods PubMed, Science Direct, Hinari, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane library were systematically searched; withal, the references of appended articles were also checked for further possible sources. The Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 tests were used to assess the heterogeneity of the included studies. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to estimate the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers in Ethiopia. Results Of the 641 articles identified through the database search, 36 studies were included in the final analysis. The estimated pooled lifetime and 12-month prevalence on occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers were found to be at 54.95% (95% confidence interval (CI), 48.25–61.65) and 44.24% (95% CI, 36.98-51.51), respectively. The study identified a variation in healthcare workers who were exposed to blood and body fluids across Ethiopian regions. Conclusion The finding of the present study revealed that there was a high level of annual and lifetime exposures to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers in Ethiopia.

Epidemiology and risk factors of needlestick injuries among healthcare workers in Iran: a systematic reviews and meta-analysis

“…NSI-related risk factors have not yet been properly identified in Iran. Studies have identified factors such as excessive and unnecessary injections, poor personnel training, female gender, high workloads, and excessive fatigue especially at nighttime as the most important causes of NSI [ 7 , 12 – 17 ]. Moreover, a systematic review found age, level of education, number of shifts per month, and history of training courses for individuals as factors influencing NSI.…”

Occupational Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids Among Nurses in Public Hospitals of the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Cross-sectional Study

“…Giving patients care without PPE can also reduce nurses' concentration during activities, which can lead to anxiety and further exposure to blood and body uids. (15,18,20).…”

“…Currently, in Ethiopia, a lack of reports exists to quantify the pooled prevalence of exposures to BBFs among health care workers (HCWs). Moreover, the epidemiology of blood-borne infections in Ethiopia has been on the rise and dynamically changing over the past decades, along with poor compliance with standard precautions among HCWs (15).…”

Occupational Accidents Among Healthcare Workers in Central Java

“…A total of 377 forms were distributed and completed by the respondents. The form contained detailed information regarding the research description, roles of respondents, and in 2 million infected with HBV and 170,000 with HIV (Sahiledengle et al, 2020). A study in a hospital in the Adara district showed that the prevalence of splashes of blood or body fluids from patients was 28%, and these were experienced by healthcare workers assisting births and operations; in addition, officers who washed the linen were also at double risk of being splashed with patients' body fluids (Kaweti & Abegaz, 2017).…”

“…Other research also showed a similar finding that the face is a common area of exposure to body fluids. Healthcare workers reported that they generally had splashes from patients' body fluids in the eye area, while others reported fluids in the mouth and nose areas (Kasatpibal et al, 2016;Kaweti & Abegaz, 2017;Sahiledengle et al, 2020).…”