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

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.