Safety Engineered Medical Sharps (SEMS)

Research | Education | Program Development | Data Collection | Legislation | Products

Research Information

• OSACH teleconference transcript: Ministry of Labour Enforcement Approach for the Health Care Sector, Including Infection Control
• Canadian Communicable Disease Report Dec 15 2001 Update: Surveillance of Healthcare Workers Exposed to Blood/Body Fluids and Bloodborne Pathogens: April, 2000 To 31 March, 2001
•   Canadian Communicable Disease Report Dec 15 2003 Update: Surveillance of Healthcare Workers Exposed to Blood/Body Fluids and Bloodborne Pathogens: April, 2000 To 31 March, 2002
•   United States General Accounting Office: Occupational Safety: Selected Cost and Benefit Implications of Needlestick Prevention Devices for Hospitals
•   OSACH SEMS Focus Group Summary

Educational Material

•   OSACH Presentation: Prevention of Blood and Body Fluid Exposures – Safety Engineered Medical Sharps
•   OSACH Fast Fact: Safe Handling and Disposal of Sharps and Medical Supplies in Home Health Settings
•   OSACH Poster: Sharps Injury Prevention 
•   OSACH Booklet: To the Point 
•   OSACH Resource Document: OSACH - Protecting Health Care Workers From Infectious Diseases: A Self-Assessment Tool
• OSACH Resource Document: Blood Borne Pathogens 
•   OSACH Safe Angle article: Engineering Out Needle Stick Injuries
• CCOHS OSH Answers: Needlestick Injuries
• International Sharps Injury Prevention Society: Resources, legislation, regulations, world safety centres, products, news, and membership

Program Development and Implementation Guidance

• OSACH: Planning Guide to the Implementation of Safety Engineered Medical Sharps
• ECRI: Sharps Safety and Needlestick Prevention
• Report of the Short Life Working Group on Needlestick Injuries in the NHSScotland
• Health Canada: Guideline for Prevention and Control of Occupational Infections in Health Care (2002) - Appendices 2 and 3 of this document include a literature review of blood and body fluid exposure issues, including safety-engineered devices. Appendix 3 describes the Canadian Needlestick Surveillance Network.
• CDC 2004: Workbook for Designing, Implementing and Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program
• CDC/NIOSH: Bloodborne Pathogen and Needle Stick Page
• OSHA: Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
• University of Virginia International Health Care Worker Safety Center: Information Page

Data Collection Tools

•   University of Virginia International Health Care Worker Safety Center: Checklist for Sharps Injury Prevention

Legislative Information

• Ontario: Regulation 474/07 - Needle Safety
• Ontario: Bill 179 2005 - An Act to reduce the incidence of needlestick injuries
• Manitoba: Bill 23 - THE WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH AMENDMENT ACT (NEEDLES IN MEDICAL WORKPLACES)
• US Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

Product Guides

• California Department of Health Services: SHARPS Injury Control Program - Product Search
• International Sharps Injury Prevention Society: Sharps Safety Products by Category
• National Alliance for the Primary Prevention of Sharps Injuries (NAPPSI)
• NeedlestickForum.Net
• Health Canada: Medical Devices Active Licence Listing
• US Food and Drug Administration: Center for Devices and Radiological Health