Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Objective To estimate the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure to body fluids among health-care workers in Africa. Methods Embase®, PubMed® and CINAHL databases were systematically searched for studies published between January 2000 and August 2017 that reported the prevalence o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97787 |
| _version_ | 1848766315991400448 |
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| author | Auta, A. Adewuyi, Emmanuel Tor-Anyiin, A. Aziz, D. Ogbole, E. Ogbonna, B.O. Adeloye, D. |
| author_facet | Auta, A. Adewuyi, Emmanuel Tor-Anyiin, A. Aziz, D. Ogbole, E. Ogbonna, B.O. Adeloye, D. |
| author_sort | Auta, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objective To estimate the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure to body fluids among health-care workers in Africa. Methods Embase®, PubMed® and CINAHL databases were systematically searched for studies published between January 2000 and August 2017 that reported the prevalence of occupational exposure to blood or other body fluids among health-care workers in Africa. The continent-wide prevalence of exposure was estimated using random-effects meta-analysis. Findings Of the 904 articles identified, 65 studies from 21 African countries were included. The estimated pooled lifetime and 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure to body fluids were 65.7% (95% confidence interval, CI: 59.7-71.6) and 48.0% (95% CI: 40.7-55.3), respectively. Exposure was largely due to percutaneous injury, which had an estimated 12-month prevalence of 36.0% (95% CI: 31.2-40.8). The pooled 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure among medical doctors (excluding surgeons), nurses (including midwives and nursing assistants) and laboratory staff (including laboratory technicians) was 46.6% (95% CI: 33.5-59.7), 44.6% (95% CI: 34.1-55.0) and 34.3% (95% CI: 21.8-46.7), respectively. The risk of exposure was higher among health-care workers with no training on infection prevention and those who worked more than 40 hours per week. Conclusion The evidence available suggests that almost one half of health-care workers in Africa were occupationally exposed to body fluids annually. However, a lack of data from some countries was a major limitation. National governments and health-care institutions across Africa should prioritize efforts to minimize occupational exposure among health-care workers. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:49:12Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-97787 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:49:12Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-977872025-05-22T15:01:31Z Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis Auta, A. Adewuyi, Emmanuel Tor-Anyiin, A. Aziz, D. Ogbole, E. Ogbonna, B.O. Adeloye, D. Body Fluids Health Personnel Humans Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional Occupational Exposure Body Fluids Humans Occupational Exposure Health Personnel Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional Objective To estimate the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure to body fluids among health-care workers in Africa. Methods Embase®, PubMed® and CINAHL databases were systematically searched for studies published between January 2000 and August 2017 that reported the prevalence of occupational exposure to blood or other body fluids among health-care workers in Africa. The continent-wide prevalence of exposure was estimated using random-effects meta-analysis. Findings Of the 904 articles identified, 65 studies from 21 African countries were included. The estimated pooled lifetime and 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure to body fluids were 65.7% (95% confidence interval, CI: 59.7-71.6) and 48.0% (95% CI: 40.7-55.3), respectively. Exposure was largely due to percutaneous injury, which had an estimated 12-month prevalence of 36.0% (95% CI: 31.2-40.8). The pooled 12-month prevalence of occupational exposure among medical doctors (excluding surgeons), nurses (including midwives and nursing assistants) and laboratory staff (including laboratory technicians) was 46.6% (95% CI: 33.5-59.7), 44.6% (95% CI: 34.1-55.0) and 34.3% (95% CI: 21.8-46.7), respectively. The risk of exposure was higher among health-care workers with no training on infection prevention and those who worked more than 40 hours per week. Conclusion The evidence available suggests that almost one half of health-care workers in Africa were occupationally exposed to body fluids annually. However, a lack of data from some countries was a major limitation. National governments and health-care institutions across Africa should prioritize efforts to minimize occupational exposure among health-care workers. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97787 10.2471/BLT.17.195735 eng unknown |
| spellingShingle | Body Fluids Health Personnel Humans Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional Occupational Exposure Body Fluids Humans Occupational Exposure Health Personnel Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional Auta, A. Adewuyi, Emmanuel Tor-Anyiin, A. Aziz, D. Ogbole, E. Ogbonna, B.O. Adeloye, D. Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title | Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full | Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_short | Health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_sort | health-care workers’ occupational exposures to body fluids in 21 countries in africa: systematic review and meta-analysis |
| topic | Body Fluids Health Personnel Humans Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional Occupational Exposure Body Fluids Humans Occupational Exposure Health Personnel Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97787 |