ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Healthcare workers are at risk of acquiring hepatitis B and C virus infections through patients' blood and bodily fluids exposure. So far, there is no pooled data that shows the prevalence of HBV and HCV among health care workers in Africa. This study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections among health care workers in Africa.@*METHODS@#Studies reporting the prevalence of HBV and HCV were identified from major databases and gray literature. PubMed, CINAHL, POPLINE, ScienceDirect, African Journals Online (AJOL), and Google Scholar were systematically searched to identify relevant studies. A random-effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of hepatitis B and C among health care workers in Africa. The heterogeneity of studies was assessed using Cochran Q statistics and I@*RESULT@#In total, 1885 articles were retrieved, and 44 studies met the inclusion criteria and included in the final analysis. A total of 17,510 healthcare workers were included. The pooled prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among health care workers in Africa is estimated to be 6.81% (95% CI 5.67-7.95) with a significant level of heterogeneity (I@*CONCLUSION@#Overall, one in fifteen and more than one in twenty healthcare workers were infected by HBV and HCV, respectively. The high burden of HBV and HCV infections remains a significant problem among healthcare workers in Africa.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids is a major risk factor for the transmission of blood-borne infections to healthcare workers. There are several primary studies in Ethiopia yet they might not be at the national level to quantify the extent of occupational blood and body fluid exposures (splash of blood or other body fluids into the eyes, nose, or mouth) or blood contact with non-intact skin among the healthcare workers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of occupational blood and body fluid exposure of healthcare workers in Ethiopia.@*METHODS@#PubMed, Science Direct, Hinari, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane library were systematically searched; withal, the references of appended articles were also checked for further possible sources. The Cochrane Q test statistics and I tests were used to assess the heterogeneity of the included studies. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to estimate the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers in Ethiopia.@*RESULTS@#Of the 641 articles identified through the database search, 36 studies were included in the final analysis. The estimated pooled lifetime and 12-month prevalence on occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers were found to be at 54.95% (95% confidence interval (CI), 48.25-61.65) and 44.24% (95% CI, 36.98-51.51), respectively. The study identified a variation in healthcare workers who were exposed to blood and body fluids across Ethiopian regions.@*CONCLUSION@#The finding of the present study revealed that there was a high level of annual and lifetime exposures to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers in Ethiopia.
ABSTRACT
Abstract Background: The risk of occupational exposure to blood-borne infections is on the rise in hospital settings. The situation is worse in developing countries for a variety of reasons, such as poor working condition, excessive injection use, and poor adherence towards universal precautions. This study was undertaken to assess the determining factors of occupational exposures to blood-borne infections, as well as to describe healthcare workers' risk perceptions and standard precautionary practices in selected hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to January 2017. A total of 323 healthcare workers from four public hospitals were selected for the study using a simple random-sampling technique. Structured questions administered by an interviewer were used to collect data. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to identify the determining factors. Results: Healthcare workers' lifetime and one-year prevalence of needlestick injuries were 39.0% (95% CI: 33.6-44.8) and 19.9% (95% CI: 15.2-24.5), respectively. The lifetime and one-year prevalence of blood and body fluid exposures were 42.6% (95% CI: 36.8-48.4) and 29.2% (95% CI: 23.8-34.7), respectively. Almost three out of five healthcare workers, 62.8% (95% CI: 57.0-68.9) had adequate risk perception, and 41.2% (95% CI: 35.4-46.9) adopted good standards of precautionary practice. Service year (AOR: 2.40; 95% CI:1.00-5.77) and having poor standards of precautionary practice (AOR: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.18-4.46) were the determinants of needlestick injuries. Conclusions: The high prevalence of occupational exposure and healthcare workers' sub-optimal practice of taking standard precautions seemed to be common. Long-term and in-service, focused, short-term training were found to be helpful in increasing awareness of the risks and reducing exposure to them