1.  
What devices are contributing to the most
injures and what can be done to prevent them
Michael Boyer
Capstone II
Dr. Punnet
2/10/2015

2. Broad Goal
 The broad goal of this
research is to help create
a safer working
environment for hospital
workers, thus in return
creating a more efficient
environment for the
patient.
Research Question
 What devices are
contributing to the most
sharps injures at the
Massachusetts Eye and
Ear Infirmary in Boston
and what can be done to
prevent them?

3.  Data Set
o Collected and reviewed by
MEEI
• Employee Health & Infection
Control
o Digitized older results and
combined results to create
master list
o From 2009-2014
 Potential Variables
o Employment status
o What device was involved
o Mechanism of injury
prevention
o Purpose of procedure
 IRB
o MEEI approval
• Submitted with revisions
o UML deferring
• Waiting for written agreement
 Study Population
o Cases of employees injured
by sharps or needles at MEE
• Look at injury rather than
the injured
• Only medical history used will
be looking into follow-up
treatment

4.  Retracting: After activation, the needle moves back
into the body of the device.
 Sliding Sheath: When activated, a protective cover
comes forward to cover the needle or blade.

5.  Blunting: After activation, there is a piece that extends
beyond the point of the needle.
 Hinged cap: When activated, a piece (often plastic)
swings up to the needle and covers it.

6.  1.)Create denominators to assess which
procedures have the highest number of injuries/
highest injury rate, which motion has the most
number of injuries/ rate
 2.)Evaluate which tool is the most dangerous
and see if a safer alternative is available
 3.)Develop and implement new, safer strategies
when handling potentially dangerous tools
 4.)Compare data with that collected by the MDPH
 5.)Establish a database for future studies/
reference

7.  Any rate or count of injuries will be evaluated using
statistical analyses of the dataset. Denominators will
be created based on which variables we select
.SPSS will be used to run all analyses.
o Rate/ Count for hospital
o People hours for State comparison
 Statistical analysis will help show which tool is the
most dangerous, similar to the first objective.
o See if safer alternatives are available
o Review of current tool models and
safety features will be completed.

8.  To develop and implement safer strategies, old
guidelines must be reviewed and updated to help
protect today’s worker
o Brainstorm with hospital- Sharps Committee
o Track ordering , if possible, over span of study
 Data will then be compared with information
collected by the Mass. Dept. of Public Health
o Aggregate data
 One central database will be created and
backed-up to ensure that future studies
can reference it.