Many of the data on nurses who're injured by needle-stick come from research conducted in hospitals and other health care facilities, and there's little information on the prevalence and type of needlesticks among home health care nurses. In order to fill in some of the gaps in the data, nurse researchers analyzed three years' worth of needlestick-injury and blood-exposure reports at three California home health care agencies. Among a total of 648 home care nurses employed by the agencies, they found a total of 48 injuries involving sharps. Of these, 38% involved needle disposal, 17% occurred during the manipulation of an IV line or access port, and 14% occurred as blood was being drawn. For 30% of the cases involving needle disposal, no sharps container was available. In 8% of the cases, the nurse reported that the protective sheath of the needle had malfunctioned.

In 39 cases in which the serologic status of the patient who was the source of the blood was recorded, 51% of the patients were HIV positive, 4% had hepatitis B, and 4% had hepatitis C. Because of the significant risks of injury and exposure to blood-borne diseases, home health care nurses need to make sure that their agencies comply with government safety regulations and that sharps-disposal containers are readily available, easily accessible, and not overfilled.

Haiduven D, Ferrol S. AAOHN Journal 2004;52(3):102-8.