Home care: health professionals at risk for biological exposure

Abstract

This prospective, exploratory study was performed using a quantitative approach with the objective of characterizing the healthcare tasks that involved biological risk for professionals working with the Home Care Service of the São Carlos Municipal Hospital (São Carlos, SP, Brazil). We followed 159 visits from June 2008 to January 2009. A total of 347 procedures were considered to present risks for biological exposure, categorized as follows: dressings (31.1%), capillary blood glucose monitoring (14.4%); and vascular access (3.1%). Of all subjects, 21.5% complied with hand cleansing prior to performing a procedure, 66.3% wore gloves and 83.5% disposed of sharps appropriately. In conclusion, these professionals are subject to biological risks similar to those found in the hospital environment, because they are also exposed to blood and sharps often and have a poor adherence to the standard preventive measures. Further studies to evaluate the influence of the features of the household on the referred risk should be encouraged.