OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SAFETY NETWORK (OHSN)

Intervention Tools

NIOSH Publications

Blood and Body Fluid Exposures

• NIOSH Bloodborne Infectious Diseases: HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C: Universal Precautions for Preventing Transmission of Bloodborne Infections
• NIOSH Bloodborne Infectious Diseases: HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C: Engineering Controls and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Improving Patient and Worker Safety: Opportunities for Synergy, Collaboration and Innovation. The Joint Commission. 2012. Needlesticks and Blood and Body Fluid Exposures addressed pages 78-84.
• OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention Website

Patient Handling

• Safe Patient Handling Training for Schools of Nursing (2009) A toolkit for training nurses in Safe Patient Handling. It includes documentation and background, a narrated slide presentation, patient-handling algorithms, and laboratory activities.
• Safe Lifting and Movement of Nursing Home Residents (2006) This guide is intended for nursing home owners, administrators, nurse managers, safety and health professionals, and workers who are interested in establishing a safe resident lifting program. Research conducted by NIOSH, the Veterans’ Health Administration, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has shown that safe resident lifting programs that incorporate mechanical lifting equipment can protect workers from injury, reduce workers’ compensation costs, and improve the quality of care delivered to residents. This guide also presents a business case to show that the investment in lifting equipment and training can be recovered through reduced workers’ compensation expenses and costs associated with lost and restricted work days.
• NIOSH Science Blog- Preventing Back Injuries in Healthcare Settings This 2008 blog entry discusses issues around back injuries with references to relevant studies.

Sharps Injuries

• Blunt-Tip Surgical Suture Needles Reduce Needlestick Injuries and the Risk of Subsequent Bloodborne Pathogen Transmission to Surgical Personnel: FDA, NIOSH and OSHA Joint Safety Communication. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Use of Blunt-Tip Suture Needles to Decrease Percutaneous Injuries to Surgical Personnel
• Workbook for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Selecting, Evaluating, and Using Sharps Disposal Containers. NIOSH Numbered Publication 97-111.
• NIOSH Bloodborne Infectious Diseases: HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C: Preventing Needlesticks and Sharps Injuries.
• CDC Injection Safety: One and Only Campaign
• NIOSH Stop Sticks Campaign
• American College of Surgeons Statement on Sharps Safety

Slips, Trips, and Falls

• Slips, Trips, and Falls Prevention for Healthcare Workers (December, 2010): Text and photos address “Top Ten” healthcare hazards, where they occur, and ways to prevent them. A section on tools and resources includes sample hazard checklists.

Workplace Violence

• Violence: Occupational Hazards in Hospitals (2002): The purpose of this brochure is to increase worker and employer awareness of the risk factors for violence in hospitals and to provide strategies for reducing exposure to these factors.
• Workplace Violence Prevention for NursesCDC Course No. WB1865 – NIOSH Pub. No. 2013-155 (2013): The purpose of this course is to help healthcare workers better understand the scope and nature of violence in the healthcare workplace. Participants will learn how to recognize the key elements of a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program, how organizational systems impact workplace violence, and how to apply individual strategies and develop skills for preventing and responding to workplace violence. Content is derived from content experts and from the OSHA 2004 Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care & Social Service Workers (OSHA 3148-01R 2004).

Related NIOSH Resources

• Bloodborne Pathogens Provides extensive information, documents, resources, and citations for preventing and responding to needlesticks and other bloodborne pathogen exposures.
• Exposure to Stress: Occupational Hazards in Hospitals Explores sources and possible adverse effects of occupational stressors among hospital workers and proposes solutions.
• Health Care Workers NIOSH topic page with resources and information on occupational hazards and their prevention for health care workers.
• Safe Patient Handling NIOSH topic page with multiple links and resource documents.
• Surveillance Definition and description of surveillance activities at NIOSH.

External Links

• OSHA Safety & Health Topic: Healthcare Facilities OSHA topic page on occupational risks and injury rates among healthcare workers. Includes subpages on Safe Patient Handling, Workplace Violence, and other topics.
• OSHA Resource: Worker Safety In Hospitals OSHA pages specifically addressing worker safety in health in the hospital setting.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Industries at a Glance: Healthcare and Social Assistance BLS workforce description and statistics about the Healthcare and Social Assistance sector.
• Beyond Getting Started: A Resource Guide for Implementing a Safe Patient Handling Program in the Acute Care Setting (AOHP Publication) (2011): Resources for creating safe patient handling programs in acute care settings.
• Free EPINet Software  – The International Safety Center offers EPINet (Exposure Prevention information Network), a sharps injury and blood exposure surveillance system that meets OSHA requirements for healthcare facilities. EPINet was developed in 1991 to identify devices and procedures that put healthcare workers at risk of injury and blood exposure. EPINet can be downloaded free of charge.
• Premier Safety Institute Part of Premier, a healthcare alliance of more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals and 86,000 other healthcare sites working to improve healthcare quality and affordability, the website provides safety resources and tools to promote a safe healthcare delivery environment for patients, workers, and their communities.
• The Joint Commission, Improving Patient and Worker Safety- Opportunities for Synergy, Collaboration and Innovation This monograph is intended to stimulate greater awareness of the potential synergies between patient and worker health and safety activities. Using actual case studies, it describes a range of topic areas and settings for improving patient safety and worker health and safety activities. Specific topics covered include: musculoskeletal injuries/safe patient handling; slips, trips, and falls; sharps injuries; exposure to hazardous substances; workplace violence; workforce staffing and fatigue; and support for work-related emotional distress.
• American Nurses Association Health and Safety Page The American Nurses Association Department of Health, Safety, and Wellness addresses multiple topics of interest, including:
  • Bullying and Violence Prevention
  • Chemicals, Drugs, and Biohazard Safety
  • Safe Patient Handling and Mobility
  • Safe Staffing
  • Sharps Safety