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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 6 page issue paper on needle-related injuries among health care workers. In simpler times, there was a possibility that an inadvertent needlestick could carry greater implication than momentary discomfort. In today’s environment, there are documented cases of hundreds of health care workers who have contracted HIV or a form of hepatitis from a needlestick injury sustained while trying to help another human being. The paper discusses conditions after 1993; the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000; and ethical values such as beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: CC6_KSnursNeedle.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
In simpler times, there was a possibility that an inadvertent needlestick could carry greater implication than momentary discomfort. In todays environment, there are documented cases of hundreds of health
care workers who have contracted HIV or a form of hepatitis from a needlestick injury sustained while trying to help another human being. Prevalence and Historical Information
The specific definition of "sharps injury" is a wound "caused by sharp instruments accidentally puncturing the skin" (Matson, 2000; p. 699). Though it is estimated
that 70 percent of such injuries go unreported, the 30 percent that do get reported number between 600,000 and one million annually (Matson, 2000). Of the sharps injuries reported
in the United States each year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that "approximately 2% (ie, 16,000) of these devices were likely to be contaminated with HIV" (Matson,
2000; p. 699). By 2000, there were at least 54 documented "cases of occupationally acquired HIV" (Matson, 2000; p. 699) in the United States alone.
The possibility of HIV infection likely is the most dramatic potential consequence of needlestick injuries. Of more immediate concern by far, however, is the threat of
infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) as well as the hepatitis B virus. Of health care workers infected with HCV, "85% become chronic carriers of the virus and risk
spreading the disease to others, including their partners. Hepatitis C may lead to liver cancer, liver transplantation, and liver failure" (Matson, 2000; p. 699). In 1992, , the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "estimated that 6,800 nonvaccinated health care workers in the United States become infected with the hepatitis B virus each year" (Matson, 2000; p. 699).
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