Occupational Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids among Health Care Workers in Arada Sub-city Health Centers of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are at high possibility of constricting blood-borne infections due to their occupation. The occurrence of these infections among HCPs is higher in low-income countries (e.g. Ethiopia). This study intended to examine the degree of occupational exposure (OE) to BBFs and its associated factors among HCPs in Arada Sub-city, Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted from November 3, 2017, to December 19, 2017. Three hundred and sixty-one HCPs selected for study using a simple random sampling technique. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. To identify factors associated with blood and body fluids bivariate and multivariate analysis used. Results: Among health, care professional one hundred and forty-nine, (41.3%) of had have exposure to BBFs in the past year. Profession (Nurse)0.76 [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)0.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26-0.98], Shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the Past Year 1.99 (AOR 1.86, 95% CI1.11-3.11), Lack lifetime training on IP8.18(AOR 7.08, 95% CI 3.57-14.03) and not Using PPE 2.19 (AOR 2.25, 95% CI 1.3 -3.89) were among the factors associated with OE to BBFs. Conclusions: This study shows a high proportion of HCP exposed to BBFs, Exposure to BBFs is observed in the practices carried out without proper equipment and standard precautions thus thereby ensuring the availability of proper equipment, proper training regarding the standard precautions and encouraging the HCPs to implement standard precautions to avoid such exposures.