Creating a Positive

Culture of Safety
around Sharps
Injury Prevention
 Culture of Safety:

The product of individual and group:

 Values
 Attitudes
 Perceptions
 Competencies and
 Patterns of behavior

that determine commitment to and the style

and proficiency of an organization’s health and
safety management.
(Reference: Sorra et al, AHRQ Pub No. 04-0041)
 Safety Culture:

• The shared values within an organization

with regard to safety.
• Expressed in the willingness to evaluate
and learn from adverse events

(References: Griffin & Neal, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2000

Zhang, et al. Proceedings of the 46th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and
Ergonomics Society, 2002)
 Safety Climate:

• The shared perception, at a point in time, of

the safety culture within an organization.
• The degree to which employees feel that
safety is an organizational value.

(References: Griffin & Neal, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2000

Zhang, et al. Proceedings of the 46th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and
Ergonomics Society, 2002)
Components of a Positive Culture of Safety:

• Organizational commitment
– Demonstrated at the highest levels in the
organization

• Management involvement
– Commitment of resources

• Employee empowerment
– Freedom to voice concerns about hazards
Components of a Positive Culture of Safety:

• Systems to acknowledge safe practices

• Reporting systems
– Injuries
– Safe behaviors
– Near misses
– Hazards
Who’s involved? What’s their role?

Management
• Acknowledge positive behaviors
• Allocate resources for new safety products and
processes
• Ensure that all staff are aware of and receive training
when changes are made
• Address suggestions made by staff to improve safety
 Who’s involved? What’s their role?

Staff
• Acknowledge co-workers’ positive behaviors
• Provide feedback to management on safety activities
and new devices
• Participate in training
• Voice concerns about hazards to management
• Offer solutions to identified hazards
Safety Culture and Sharps Injuries

Nurses with a positive

measure of safety
culture more likely to
accept newly
introduced IV catheter
safety device
Safety Culture and Sharps Injuries

Measures of safety culture

are associated with
compliance with safe work
practices

Employees with higher

measures of safety culture
were half as likely to
experience blood/body fluid
exposure incidents
 Activities specific to
Sharps Injury Prevention

• Engineering Controls
– List of conventional devices identifying where
they are used
– Inventory of devices with safety features
– Rigid sharps disposal containers

• Training on the use of devices with safety

features
 Activities specific to sharps
injury prevention (continued)

• Sharps Injury Prevention Committee

– Analysis and use of data in decision making

• Process for identifying and reporting hazards

• Process for reporting exposure incidents
– Well developed post-exposure management protocols
 Activities specific to sharps
injury prevention (continued)

• Bloodborne pathogen training

– Upon hire and annually
– Review of hazards, prevention measures and
reporting protocols

• Educational campaigns
– In-services
– Posters
Sharps Injury in the OR
 Safety Culture Factors

• Long shifts
• Use of sharp suture needle
• Use of long length of suture material
• Unable to leave operating room
• Waiting until the end of the shift to report the
exposure
 Changes

• Shorter shifts to avoid fatigue

• Use of blunt suture needles
• Shorter suture material
• Identify someone in OR to call Occupational Health for
exposures
• Triage exposure over the phone
• If necessary, Employee Health brings PEP to OR
 Impact of positive changes:

• Reduction of hazards with suture needles

→ reduction / elimination of injuries involving suture
needles
• Improved reporting
• More timely post-exposure management
• Improved employee safety and patient care
 Culture of safety….

…the shared commitment of management

and employees to ensure the safety of all
care providers and patients in the facility.

Together we can make it work!