CDC program to prevent needlestick injury

Needlestick and sharp injuries are a serious problem for healthcare professionals. Even helping someone test his or her glucose can be dangerous.

Sharps-related injuries present an occupational hazard to staff. These injuries are associated with the transmission of hepatitis B and C and HIV viruses, along with more than 20 other pathogens, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

The One & Only Campaign, a public health campaign, is led by the CDC and the Safe Injection Practices Coalition, to raise awareness among patients and healthcare providers about safe injection practices. The program is designed to assess providers' current sharps injury prevention programs, document the development and implementation of planning and prevention activities and evaluate the programs' impact.

The plan has two major components: (1) organizational steps for plan development and implementation and (2) operational processes to create a safety culture, report injuries, analyze data and select and evaluate devices.

A downloadable workbook presents a thorough program to prevent sharps injuries. Teaching tools are also available to train and educate staff.

Sandra Hoban

Sandra Hoban was on I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living’s editorial staff for 17 years. She is one of the country’s longest-serving senior care journalists. Before joining Long-Term Living, she was a member of the promotions department at Advanstar Communications. In addition to her editorial experience, Sandi has served past roles in print and broadcast advertising as a traffic and talent coordinator.