Underreporting of occupational accidents with biological materials involving nursing professionals in a public hospital/Subnotificacao de acidente ocupacional com materiais biologicos entre profissionais de Enfermagem em um hospital publico

• Published in: Revista brasileira de medicina do trabalho 2017-01, Vol.15 (1), p.12
• Main Authors: Barbosa, Adriana Sierra Assencio Almeida, Diogo, Geandra do Amaral, Salotti, Selma Regina Axcar, Silva, Sonia Maria Uso Ruiz
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• ISSN: 1679-4435
• DOI: 10.5327/Z1679443520177034

Background: Occupational accidents underwent by nursing professionals following exposure to biological materials are a cause concern, because in addition to the damage caused to the injured professionals, they are also harmful to institutions. Aims: To investigate the underreporting of occupational accidents with biological materials involving nursing professionals. Methods: Descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted with nursing professionals on active work at a public hospital in the city of Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil, through the application of a questionnaire developed by the authors. Results: From 107 nursing professionals in the institution, 96 (89.8%) agreed to participate in the survey, which was conducted from January to March 2015. From the participants, 53 (55.2%) reported having suffered an accident with biological materials. The prevalence of underreporting was 34% and there were individuals who had suffered up to seven accidents without having reported any. Regarding underreported accidents, 73.9% occurred through percutaneous routes and 67.4% involved blood. The main reason not to report accidents was that the participants did not consider it to be necessary, and the main reason for the accident, according them, was fatality. Conclusion: The results of the present study clearly point to the need to develop educational actions aiming at the prevention of accidents with biological materials, which pose a serious risk to healthcare professionals. We emphasize the revelance of reporting such accidents for the planning of preventive strategies, in addition to ensure workers their right to medical assessment, adequate treatment and enforcement of labor rights Keywords | occupational accidents registry; exposure to biological agents; nursing, team. Contexto: Os acidentes de trabalho com exposicao a material biologico envolvendo profissionais de Enfermagem tem sido fator preocupante, porque, alem dos danos que causam aos profissionais acidentados, tambem geram prejuizos as instituicoes. Objetivo: Verificar a subnotificacao da ocorrencia de acidentes ocupacionais com material biologico entre profissionais de Enfermagem. Metodos: Estudo descritivo, de corte transversal, realizado com profissionais de Enfermagem, de ambos os sexos e em ativo exercicio profissional, de um hospital publico do municipio de Bauru, Sao Paulo, por meio da aplicacao de um questionario elaborado pelos autores. Resultados: Dos 107 profissionais da Enfermagem da instituicao,