Prognostic Factors for the Occurrence of Blood Exposure Accidents among Health Personnel at the Kaolack Regional Hospital (Senegal)

Caregivers are highly exposed to blood exposure accidents (BEA). The objective of our study is to determine the frequency of BEA and to identify the predictive factors for the occurrence of BEAs among caregivers at the Kaolack Regional Hospital (KRH). It is a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of KRH’s caregivers. The data were collected during the period from 16 to 26 April 2018. The multivariate analysis was carried out using the binary logistic regression model with a dependent variable (occurrence of blood exposure accidents) and 5 explanatory variables (sex, age, service of belonging, professional category and seniority in the profession). A total of 115 caregivers were surveyed out of 144. It is noted that 68 caregivers (59.1%) have had at least one BEA in the previous 12 months. The age of caregivers significantly reduces the risk of developing a BEA (p = 0.004, CI [0.04 - 0.21]); belonging to the age group [20 - 40 years] increases the risk of a BEA by 6.66. Sex significantly influences the occurrence of BEA with a (p = 0.013, CI [1.47 - 19.4]); men are 5 times more likely to develop BEA. The risk of a BEA occurring varies according to the professional category. Senior health technicians have a significantly 50 times lower risk of occurrence of a BEA (p = 0.007, CI [0.00 - 0.24)]. Nurses and midwives have a 5.8 lower risk of developing BEAs (p = 0.031, CI [0.03 - 0.75]). The risk of occurrence of BEAs varies according to the service of belonging; Medicine service caregivers have a significantly 50-fold lower risk of developing BEAs (p = 0.004, CI [0.00 - 0.17]). The identified risk factors will be used to better guide our BEAs prevention interventions.