Practical Preventive Approaches In Occupational Blood-Borne Infections

Abstract

Introduction According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the education of medical specialists should place the focus on safety at work and safe patient care as the key factor in shaping general medical education and subsequently enhancing the competence of each applicable medical specialty. Aim The aim of this article is to present standardized and rational management of the occupational risk of blood-borne infections, hepatitis B, C, and AIDS, by developing practical approaches to prevention. Results and Discussion We developed a Programme for the Prevention of the Risk of Occupational Blood-Borne Viral Infections and a Model for Occupational Risk and Prevention of Occupational Blood-Borne Viral Infections, Hepatitis B, C, and AIDS. The Programme focuses primarily on the organizational sources of occupational risk and the institutional culture of safety. The implementation of the program will stimulate the creation of a favorable organizational environment to prevent and limit the risk of occupational contamination with blood-borne infections. The Model contains all necessary standard practical steps to prevent the occupational risk of blood-borne viral infections. It is developed in the form of a graphical tool. Its application is aimed at nurses and students. Conclusion The implementation of the proposed set of practical approaches will contribute to raising the level of occupational safety of students and nurses, and to achieving optimal protection from occupational blood-borne viral infections.