Overcoming barries to compliance

Janine Jagger, PhD, is an epidemiologist specializing in injury prevention and control. Early in her career, her research and advocacy focused on brain trauma and motor vehicle safety. Over the last 20 years, Dr. Jagger has devoted herself to reducing healthcare workplace transmission of bloodborne pathogens. In 1988, Dr. Jagger and colleagues published a landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine which detailed the characteristics of medical devices causing needlestick injuries, and criteria for protective needle designs. This pioneering research provided the foundation for the development of a new generation of safer medical devices. In 1991, Dr. Jagger developed the EPINet surveillance system to provide healthcare facilities with a standardized system for tracking needlestick injuries and blood and body fluid exposures; it is now used by over 1,500 healthcare facilities in the US, and in more than 50 countries around the world. The worldwide dissemination of EPINet has resulted in worldwide access to data on the causes and prevention of healthcare workplace exposures to bloodborne pathogens. In 2002, Dr. Jagger received one of the most prestigious awards in the US: a MacArthur Foundation fellowship. The award is given to individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their professional pursuits. Dr. Jagger and a team of colleagues are the inventors of six patented safety needle devices, which were honored with a Distinguished Inventor Award in 1988 by Intellectual Property Owners, Inc., and displayed by the US Patent and Trademark Office in its 1990 Bicentennial Exhibit. In addition to ongoing research and public policy efforts, Dr. Jagger collaborates with and is consulted by government agencies in the US and abroad, private industry, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions in the areas of safer medical device design and the prevention of healthcare-mediated exposures to bloodborne pathogens

Life and living in advanced age: a cohort study in New Zealand - Te Puāwaitanga o Nga Tapuwae Kia Ora Tonu, LiLACS NZ: Study protocol

The number of people of advanced age (85 years and older) is increasing and health systems may be challenged by increasing health-related needs. Recent overseas evidence suggests relatively high levels of wellbeing in this group, however little is known about people of advanced age, particularly the indigenous Māori, in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This paper outlines the methods of the study Life and Living in Advanced Age: A Cohort Study in New Zealand. The study aimed to establish predictors of successful advanced ageing and understand the relative importance of health, frailty, cultural, social & economic factors to successful ageing for Māori and non-Māori in New Zealand

The impact of U.S. policies to protect healthcare workers from bloodborne pathogens: The critical role of safety-engineered devices

SummaryIn the United States (U.S.), federal legislation requiring the use of safety-engineered sharp devices, along with an array of other protective measures, has played a critical role in reducing healthcare workers’ (HCWs) risk of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens over the last 20 years. We present the history of U.S. regulatory and legislative actions regarding occupational blood exposures, and review evidence of the impact of these actions. In one large network of U.S. hospitals using the Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) sharps injury surveillance program, overall injury rates for hollow-bore needles declined by 34%, with a 51% decline for nurses. The U.S. experience demonstrates the effectiveness of safety-engineered devices in reducing sharps injuries, and the importance of national-level regulations (accompanied by active enforcement) in ensuring wide-scale availability and implementation of protective devices to decrease healthcare worker risk