TY - JOUR
T1 - Incidence of ambulatory care visits after needlestick and sharps injuries among Healthcare workers in taiwan
T2 - A nationwide populationbased study
AU - Wang, Shyang Guang
AU - Hung, Chin Tun
AU - Li, Shu Fen
AU - Lu, Yu Chun
AU - Chang, Shu Chuan
AU - Lee, Horng Mo
AU - Pai, Lee Wen
AU - Lai, Fu I.
AU - Huang, Yu Wen
AU - Chung, Yueh Chin
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology ( CTU100-2 ). This study was conducted partly using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database provided by the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Department of Health and managed by the National Health Research Institute. The interpretation and conclusions contained herein do not represent the opinions of the Bureau of National Health Insurance, the Department of Health, or the National Health Research Institute.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2014, Kaohsiung Medical University. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Healthcare professionals have a high risk of needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs), which have a high potential for disease transmission. Ambulatory care follow up is essential, but is usually overlooked. This study aimed to investigate the annual and cumulative (age-, sex-, and subtype-specific) incidences of ambulatory care visits after NSIs. This study was also designed to evaluate the incidences of blood-borne diseases associated with NSIs among Taiwanese health professionals in Taiwan between 2004 and 2010. Data were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database, which contains anonymized records representing approximately 99% of the Taiwan population. A total of 4443 nurse healthcare workers (NHCWs) and 3138 non-nurse healthcare workers (NNHCWs), including physicians, medical technologists, and other health professionals were included in this longitudinal study. Oddsratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to adjust for sex, age, and type of affiliation. Results showed that the annual incidence of ambulatory care visits of NHCWs increased from 0.7% in 2004 to 1.9% in 2010; this incidence was significantly higher than that of NNHCWs (from 0.3% in 2004 to 0.5% in 2010) in any yearly comparison (p <0.05). The sex-adjusted 7-year cumulative incidence rate was 3.23 (95% Cl = 1.23-8.45) in males and 3.92 (95% Cl = 2.70-5.69) in females (p <0.05). The age-adjusted 7-year cumulative incidence rate was 2.74 (95% Cl = 1.99-3.77) and 2.14 (95% Cl = 1.49-3.07) in subjects <30 and >31 years old, respectively (p <0.0005). The affiliation-adjusted 7-year cumulative incidence rate was 1.89 (95% Cl = 1.21-2.94) in medical centers and 3.33 (95% Cl = 2.51-4.41) in nonmedical centers (p <0.01). In conclusion, NSIs increased steadily from 2004 to 2010 in Taiwan with NHCWs having higher NSIs incidences than NNHCWs. A routine ambulatory care visit after NSIs can prevent blood-borne transmission, especially for NHCWs. Educational programs may be helpful for reducing the incidence of NSIs and increasing ambulatory care visit ratios after NSIs.
AB - Healthcare professionals have a high risk of needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs), which have a high potential for disease transmission. Ambulatory care follow up is essential, but is usually overlooked. This study aimed to investigate the annual and cumulative (age-, sex-, and subtype-specific) incidences of ambulatory care visits after NSIs. This study was also designed to evaluate the incidences of blood-borne diseases associated with NSIs among Taiwanese health professionals in Taiwan between 2004 and 2010. Data were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database, which contains anonymized records representing approximately 99% of the Taiwan population. A total of 4443 nurse healthcare workers (NHCWs) and 3138 non-nurse healthcare workers (NNHCWs), including physicians, medical technologists, and other health professionals were included in this longitudinal study. Oddsratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to adjust for sex, age, and type of affiliation. Results showed that the annual incidence of ambulatory care visits of NHCWs increased from 0.7% in 2004 to 1.9% in 2010; this incidence was significantly higher than that of NNHCWs (from 0.3% in 2004 to 0.5% in 2010) in any yearly comparison (p <0.05). The sex-adjusted 7-year cumulative incidence rate was 3.23 (95% Cl = 1.23-8.45) in males and 3.92 (95% Cl = 2.70-5.69) in females (p <0.05). The age-adjusted 7-year cumulative incidence rate was 2.74 (95% Cl = 1.99-3.77) and 2.14 (95% Cl = 1.49-3.07) in subjects <30 and >31 years old, respectively (p <0.0005). The affiliation-adjusted 7-year cumulative incidence rate was 1.89 (95% Cl = 1.21-2.94) in medical centers and 3.33 (95% Cl = 2.51-4.41) in nonmedical centers (p <0.01). In conclusion, NSIs increased steadily from 2004 to 2010 in Taiwan with NHCWs having higher NSIs incidences than NNHCWs. A routine ambulatory care visit after NSIs can prevent blood-borne transmission, especially for NHCWs. Educational programs may be helpful for reducing the incidence of NSIs and increasing ambulatory care visit ratios after NSIs.
KW - Ambulatory care visit
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Healthcare worker
KW - Incidence
KW - Needlestick and sharps injuries
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U2 - 10.1016/j.kjms.2014.05.004
DO - 10.1016/j.kjms.2014.05.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 25224772
AN - SCOPUS:84923558876
SN - 1607-551X
VL - 30
SP - 477
EP - 483
JO - Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences
JF - Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences
IS - 9
ER -