Risk Factors of Blood and Body Fluid Exposure in Clinical Nurses

Shin, Eun Jung; Park, Ho Ran

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors of exposure to blood and body fluid by clinical nurses. METHOD: The participants in this descriptive study were 276 clinical nurses involved in nursing care in a general hospital located in Seoul. The collected data were analyzed using a logistic regression model.
RESULTS
The annual exposure rate to blood and body fluid by clinical nurses was 66.3%, and the ratio was higher in the exposed group than in the non-exposed group for nurses under the age of 25, nurses who were unmarried, nurses with low clinical experience, and nurses who work night shifts more than six days a week. Clinical nurses who were unmarried were 1.9 times more likely to have been exposed compared to married nurses. Nurses whose work experience was less than 18 months were 2.7 times more at risk than nurses with more than 18 months of experience. Also, nurses whose fatigue scores were high had an increased chance of exposure (1.9 times).
CONCLUSION
It is necessary to provide intensive training programs for clinical nurses who are in the early months of their career and are likely to be young and unmarried, in order to prevent exposure to blood and body fluid. Administrative supports to self-control and hospital ward operation measures to relieve nurses' fatigue should be provided.