Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To investigate the current status of prevention and control for bloodborne occupational exposure in healthcare institutions, providing references for targeted improvements in the prevention and control system.
METHODS A convenient sampling method was adopted to select 259 healthcare institutions in Beijing as the study subjects. A retrospective survey was conducted in Dec. 2024 to assess the prevention and control measures for bloodborne occupational exposure implemented in these institutions over the past year. Data were collected through a self-designed questionnaire comprising 20 items across three categories, including basic information on institutions and personnel, occupational health and safety culture assessment and the implementation status of the "5E" injury prevention strategy for bloodborne occupational exposure. The study analyzed the occupational health and safety culture construction and the implementation of the prevention strategy in the institutions.
RESULTS The surveyed institutions demonstrated relatively high scores in occupational health and safety culture and implementational rates of the "5E" prevention strategy for bloodborne occupational exposure, with average score and implementational rates of 91.52% and 85.79%, respectively. However, among the occupational health and safety culture scores, the inclusion of individual occupational safety and health responsibility in annual performance evaluations had the lowest score rate (85.48%). Regarding the implementation of the "5E" prevention strategy, the establishment and enforcement of regulations related to bloodborne occupational exposure management had the lowest implementational rate (77.99%), and the rate of reducing employee bloodborne occupational exposure cases by mitigating environmental risk factors within one year was also relatively low (82.24%). There was still some room for improvement in both occupational health and safety culture construction and the implementation of prevention strategies across institutions.
CONCLUSIONS It is recommended to incorporate occupational safety and health responsibility into performance evaluation metrics, increase investment in occupational health and safety culture construction, and promote the formulation of regulations related to bloodborne occupational exposure. Efforts should be made to enhance healthcare workers' motivation for occupational protection, improve prevention and control processes for bloodborne occupational exposure, and ensure policy enforcement. Additionally, the medical occupational environment should be optimized to foster collaboration between healthcare workers and staff, thereby strengthening the prevention and control for bloodborne occupational exposure system construction and safeguarding the occupational safety of healthcare workers.