Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jul 1;16(7):e0253909.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253909. eCollection 2021.

Perception of risk of exposure in the management of hazardous drugs in home hospitalization and hospital units

Mari Ángeles Bernabeu-Martínez  1   2 , Julia Sánchez-Tormo  3 , Pedro García-Salom  4 , Javier Sanz-Valero  1   5 , Carmina Wanden-Berghe  6
Affiliations

Perception of risk of exposure in the management of hazardous drugs in home hospitalization and hospital units

Mari Ángeles Bernabeu-Martínez et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: To assess the perception of risk of exposure in the management of hazardous drugs (HDs) through home hospitalization and hospital units.

Material and methods: A questionnaire was released, at the national level, to health professionals with HD management expertise. Questionnaire included 21 questions that were scored using a Likert scale: 0 (null probability) to 4 (very high probability). The internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire were calculated using Cronbach's alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient, respectively.

Results: 144 questionnaires (response rate 70.2%) were obtained: 65 (45.1%) were nurses, 42 (28.9%) occupational physicians, and 37 (26.1%) were pharmacists. Cronbach's alpha was 0.93, and intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.97; p-value < 0.001). The mean probability was 1.95 ± 1.02 (median 1.9; minimum: 0.05; 1st quartile 1.1; 3rd quartile 2.6; and maximum 4). Differences were observed in scoring among professional groups (occupational physicians versus nurses (1.6/2.1, p = 0.044); pharmacists versus nurses (1.7/2.1, p = 0.05); and occupational physicians versus pharmacists (1.6/1.7, p = 0.785), due mainly to the administration stage (p = 0.015).

Conclusions: The perception of risk of exposure was moderate, being higher for nurses. It would be advisable to integrate HDs into a standardized management system (risk management model applicable to any healthcare center) to improve the safety of health professionals.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Graphical representation of the distribution of the responses for the 21 items in the questionnaire.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Average perception of risk of exposure values for the 21 items in the questionnaire, by profession.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Falk K, Gröhn P, Sorsa M, Vainio H, Heinonen E, Holsti LR. Mutagenicity in urine of nurses handling cytostatic drugs. Lancet 1979. Jun;1(8128):1250–1. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(79)91939-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Society of Hospital Pharmacists. ASHP technical assistance bulletin on handling cytotoxic and hazardous drugs. Am J Hosp Pharm 1990. May;47(5):1033–49. - PubMed
    1. Burroughs GE, Connor TH, McDiarmid MA, Mead KR, Power LA, Reed LD. NIOSH Alert: preventing occupational exposure to antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs in health care settings. Atlanta, USA: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention; 2004. Report No.: 2004–165.
    1. Erce A, editor. Preventing occupational exposure to cytotoxic and other hazardous drugs: European Policy Recommendations. [Internet]. Brussels, Belgium: Rodhe Public Policy; 2016. [cited 2020 April 12]. https://bit.ly/2qXKWHG
    1. Braun B, Riehle A, Donofrio K, Hazif H, Loeb JM. Improving patient and worker safety: Opportunities for synergy, collaboration and innovation. Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois USA: The Joint Commission; 2012.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances