TY - JOUR
T1 - A Safety Information Blitz to Reduce Sharps Injuries: Results from the Stop Sticks Campaign
AU - Cunningham, Thomas R.
AU - Sinclair, Raymond C.
AU - Harney, Amanda M. G.
AU - Smallwood, Stacy W.
AU - Christianson, Annette L.
N1 - Injuries from medical sharps devices and blood-borne pathogen (BBP) exposure are a significant risk to many healthcare workers. Risk awareness communications and sharps safety strategies are key components of BBP exposure prevention efforts. The research reported here includes an evaluation of a large-scale communication intervention aimed at raising awareness among healthcare workers regarding the risks of sharps injuries and BBP exposure, as well as methods of prevention.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Injuries from medical sharps devices and blood-borne pathogen (BBP) exposure are a significant risk to many healthcare workers. Risk awareness communications and sharps safety strategies are key components of BBP exposure prevention efforts. The research reported here includes an evaluation of a large-scale communication intervention aimed at raising awareness among healthcare workers regarding the risks of sharps injuries and BBP exposure, as well as methods of prevention. The Stop Sticks campaign was a multi-media communication intervention targeted at multiple healthcare facilities in Columbia, South Carolina. Following a comprehensive needs assessment in each facility, tailored communications were delivered via several channels. Samples included individual hospital departments, an entire hospital, and a nursing home. Results indicate high levels of knowledge and communication channel recall, minimal attitude and behavior change, and a strong association between sharps-related safety behavior and safety climate. Overall, this research suggests the blitz approach is viable for raising awareness of occupational safety and health issues. Based on these findings, several recommendations are offered for conducting safety campaigns in healthcare facilities.
AB - Injuries from medical sharps devices and blood-borne pathogen (BBP) exposure are a significant risk to many healthcare workers. Risk awareness communications and sharps safety strategies are key components of BBP exposure prevention efforts. The research reported here includes an evaluation of a large-scale communication intervention aimed at raising awareness among healthcare workers regarding the risks of sharps injuries and BBP exposure, as well as methods of prevention. The Stop Sticks campaign was a multi-media communication intervention targeted at multiple healthcare facilities in Columbia, South Carolina. Following a comprehensive needs assessment in each facility, tailored communications were delivered via several channels. Samples included individual hospital departments, an entire hospital, and a nursing home. Results indicate high levels of knowledge and communication channel recall, minimal attitude and behavior change, and a strong association between sharps-related safety behavior and safety climate. Overall, this research suggests the blitz approach is viable for raising awareness of occupational safety and health issues. Based on these findings, several recommendations are offered for conducting safety campaigns in healthcare facilities.
KW - Blood-borne pathogen (BBP) exposure
KW - Healthcare
KW - Needlestick
KW - Safety climate
KW - Safety communication intervention
KW - Shaprs
UR - https://doi.org/10.1179/175380710X12870623776351
U2 - 10.1179/175380710X12870623776351
DO - 10.1179/175380710X12870623776351
M3 - Article
SN - 1753-8068
VL - 3
JO - Journal of Communication in Healthcare
JF - Journal of Communication in Healthcare
ER -
