Assessing of policies and practices for occupational exposure to blood-borne viral infections in Tanta University Hospitals, Egypt.

One of the best ways to investigate and improve the effectiveness of polices for prevention and control of infections is through systematic and rigorous evaluation of the structural, functional, and practical elements of these polices. To assess the policies for managing occupational exposure to blood-borne viral infections in Tanta University Hospitals. A cross-sectional survey was carried out. A checklist was used to collect data related to the hospital policy regarding occupational exposure to blood-borne viral infections which was filled by direct personal interviews with the members of infection control (IC) committee of Tanta University Hospitals where the percentage of those in compliance with specific occupational management policies were reported. All studied participants reported lack of access to written infection control manual and only 14.3 % reported that infection control policies and procedures are updated yearly. Only 32.5 % of studied healthcare workers (HCWs) were not aware by the availability of a needle injury clinic. Only 28.6 % of the members of IC committee reported that pre-placement screening of HCWs for baseline blood tests for HBV, HCV, or HIV was conducted; however, periodic screening for these infections was not conducted as reported by all of the members. Among the members of IC committee, 57.1 % recorded availability of post-exposure evaluation. Only 42.8 % of the members of IC committee reported ensuring HCWs' confidentiality when reporting their exposure incidents. Both exposure management policies and practices were not aligning with the national guidelines.