Links

to resources related to occupational exposure prevention and healthcare worker safety

• Emergency needlestick information

• U.S. federal government

• U.S. federal agencies:

• OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

• NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• FDA (Food and Drug Administration)

• World Health Organization

• Other Links

• For links to international resources, click here

Federal government: 

• Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (copy of bill)
  
• Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act - photo of bill-signing ceremony at the White House, November 6, 2000
  
  U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) report: "Occupational Safety: Selected Cost and Benefit Implications of Needlestick Prevention Devices for Hospitals" (PDF File)
  

OSHA:

• OSHA Home Page
  
• 2001 Revised Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (Published 1/18/01)
  
• 2001 Revised Bloodborne Pathogens Standard: Federal Register text (PDF file)
  
• Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
  
• Bloodborne Pathogens Fact Sheet
  
• Bloodborne Pathogens Standard training material
  
• Compliance Directive for the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (Revised 11/27/01)
  
• Exposure Control Plan (model OSHA plan)
  
• Fact Sheet: Securing Medical Catheters
  
• Frequently asked questions concerning the bloodborne pathogens standard (published Feb. 1, 1993, updated Aug. 13, 2003)
  
• Frequently asked questions about the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act
  
• Hospital eTool: OSHA requirements and recommended work practices for occupational health and safety in healthcare settings (by individual clinical settings)
  
• How to Prevent Needlestick Injuries: Answers to Some Important Questions
  
• Information for employers: complying with OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (joint OSHA-NIOSH compliance tool for small employers)
  
• More FAQs on the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
  
• Revision to OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard: Technical Background and Summary
  
• Request for Information - Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens (9/9/1998)
  
• Safety and Health Information Bulletin: Use of Blunt-Tip Suture Needles (2007)
  
• Safety and Health Information Bulletin: Disposal of Contaminated Needles and Blood Tube Holders Used for Phlebotomy (2003)
  

CDC:

• Emergency needlestick information
  
• CDC home page
  
• Bloodborne Pathogens in Healthcare Settings
  
• Case-Control Study of HIV Seroconversion in Health-Care Workers After Percutaneous Exposure to HIV-Infected Blood-- France, United Kingdom, and United States, January 1988-August 1994 (MMWR 1995)
  
• Estimate of the Annual Number of Percutaneous Injuries Amoung Hospital-Based Healthcare Workers in the United States, 1997-1998
  
• Evaluation of Blunt Suture Needles in Preventing Percutaneous Injuries Among Health-Care Workers During Gynecologic Surgical Procedures--New York City, March 1993-June1994 (MMWR 1997)
  
• Evaluation of Safety Devices for Preventing Percutaneous Injuries Among Health-Care Workers During Phlebotomy Procedures--Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Work City, and San  Francisco, 1993-1995 (MMWR 1997)
  
• Exposure to Blood: What Health Care Workers Need to Know
  
• Eye Protection for Infection Control
  
• Guideline for Infection Control in Health Care Personnel, 1998
  
• Hand Hygiene Resource Page
  
• Hepatitis C - information for healthcare professionals
  
• Hepatitis C - risk of acquiring for healthcare workers
  
• NaSH (National Surveillance System for Health Care Workers)
  
• National Sharps Injury Prevention Meeting - Proceedings (September 2005)
  
• Needle-Free Injection Technology
  
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Healthcare Settings (includes free downloadable slideset and posters)
  
• Preventing Occupational HIV Transmission to Healthcare Personnel
  
• Public Health Service Guidelines for the Management of Health-Care Worker Exposure to HIV and Recommendations for Postexposure Prophylaxis (MMWR 1998)
  
• Recommendations for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection and HCV-Related Chronic Disease (MMWR 1998)
  
• Rapid HIV Testing
  
• Surveillance of U.S. Healthcare Personnel with HIV/AIDS (including occupationally acquired HIV/AIDS)
  
• Universal Precautions for Prevention of Transmission of HIV and Other Bloodborne Infections
  
• Updated U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines for the Management of Occupational Exposures to HBV, HCV, and HIV and Recommendations for Postexposure Prophylaxis (MMWR 2001)
  
• Workbook for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program (2004 version)
  
• Workbook for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program (2008 revised version) 

 NIOSH:

• Bloodborne Infectious Diseases - HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus
  
• How to Protect Yourself from Needlestick Injuries
  
• Information for employers: complying with OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (joint OSHA-NIOSH compliance tool for small employers)
  
• NIOSH Alert: Preventing Needlestick Injuries in Health Care Settings
  
• Overview of state needle safety legislation
  
• Protecting the Health of Health Care Workers: A Global Perspective. Proceedings from workshop on "Occupational Health Services for Health Care Workers in Rural/Remote Areas and Developing Countries," October 24, 2007. Vancouver, British Columbia. Sponsored by Pan-American Health Organization, International Commission on Occupational Health, and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, among others.
  
• Safer Medical Device Implementation in Healthcare Facilities: Sharing Lessons Learned

• Selecting, Evaluating, and Using Sharps Disposal Containers
  
• Use of Blunt-Tip Suture Needles to Decrease Percutaneous Injuries to Surgical Personnel
  

FDA:

• Glass Capillary Tubes: Joint Safety Advisory About Potential Risks (1999)
  
• Guidance for Industry: Medical Devices with Sharps Injury Prevention Features (2005)
  
• Safety Alert: Needlestick and Other Risks from Hypodermic Needles on Secondary I.V. Administration Sets - Piggyback and Intermittent I.V. (1992)
  

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

• Global Health Workforce Alliance
  
• WHO Toolkit - Protecting Healthcare Workers: Preventing Needlestick Injuries
  
• WHO Aide Memoire on Health Care Worker Safety
  
• WHO Pilot Projects to Reduce Sharps Injuries in Health Care Workers

Other Links

• American Nurses' Association:
  Safe Needles Save Lives
  2008 Study of Nurses' Views on Workplace Safety and Needlestick Injuries
  ANA Backgrounder: Needlestick and Sharps Injuries
  ANA Needlestick Prevention Guide
  
  
• California Department of Health: Sharps Injury Control Program
  
  
• Cal/OSHA:
  Cal/OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Regulatory Update
  California OSHA: Frequently Asked Questions About the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
  
  
• Cost Estimates of California's Revised Bloodborne Pathogens Standard and Implementation of Safety Devices:
  (Click here, then search documenton "cost" and on "impact on businesses.")
  
  
• Health Care Product Evaluation Center
  University of Virginia School of Nursing
  
  
• Hepatitis C information: Alert Health
  
  
• Joint Commission: Sentinel Event Alert - Preventing Needlesticks and Sharps Injuries (2001)
  
  
• Nursing2004 needle-stick and sharps-safety survey (Perry J, Robinson ES, Jagger J)
  
  
• ORprecautions.com (operating room/surgical safety, Dr. Mark Davis)
  
  
• Organization for Safety & Asepsis Procedures (OSAP)-International Dental Infection Control and Safety - percutaneous injury prevention
  
  
• Premier Safety Institute:
  Needlestick prevention brochure
  Sharps Injury Prevention page
  Journal literature on Safety Device Research
  
  
• Service Employees International Union: Guide to Prevention Needlestick Injuries
  
  
• TDICT Project (information and forms on device evaluation)
  
  
• University of Wisconsin - Madison:
  Bloodborne Pathogens Reference and Training Manual