PREVALÊNCIA E FATORES ASSOCIADOS À UTILIZAÇÃO DE EQUIPAMENTOS DE PROTEÇÃO INDIVIDUAL (EPI) ENTRE OS PROFISSIONAIS DE SAÚDE ACIDENTADOS COM MATERIAL BIOLÓGICO NO ESTADO DO MARANHÃO

Abstract

Health professionals are exposed to the risk of occupational accidents due to the direct and constant manipulation of blood and body fluids of patients, sources of pathogen transmission. Personal protective equipment (PPE) acts as a barrier and promotes protection whenever there is a possibility of exposure to biological material. The objective of this study is to investigate the use of PPE among health professionals injured with biological material in the state of Maranhão. Therefore, a cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out with all health professionals injured with biological material in the period from 2010 to 2015, based on the SINAN database, which was made available By the State Department of Health of Maranhão. The variables of the study were: age, sex, schooling, occupation, work situation, length of service, accident location, accident circumstance, accident type, organic material involved, causative agent. These variables were organized in blocks, arranged in a hierarchical structure (distal level, intermediate level and proximal level) and analyzed in the program STATA version 12.0, with the response variable being the use of individual protection equipment. They were considered to be associated with the variable response to those with p-value <0.05. At the end of the hierarchical analysis, they were associated with non-use of PPE: age from 18 to 30 years (RP = 0.96, p = 0.040), having ≤12 years of study (RP = 1.04, p = 0.043 (RP = 1.04, p = 0.011), percutaneous exposure (PR = 1.02, p = 0.010), per blood (RP = 1.01, p = 0.003) and by inappropriate discharge of sharps (RP = 1.05, p = 0.004). The proper use of personal protective equipment is still largely neglected by health professionals, requiring training and specific training on biosafety standards.