Background : Having a potential risk for the transmission of blood-borne infections, occupational exposure to blood and body fluids has been considered as one of the essential occupational problems of health care workers for 50 years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate occupational exposure to blood in educational-medical centers affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences.

Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, medical students and staff from all 7 hospitals and emergency centers of Kashan were asked to fill out questionnaires containing relevant variables such as demographic information, years of experience, place and type of the work, history of different types of exposure to blood, place, time and cause of injuries, type of service and devices associated to injuries. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data.

Results: Of 678 medical students and staff, who completed the questionnaires, 247 participants (36.4%) were male whose age and years of experience were 28.9 ± 7.6 and 9.2 ± 7.36, respectively. Ninety-four percent of participants and 100% of emergency nurses, operating room technicians, and laboratory technicians reported at least one episode of blood exposure in their professional life. Rates of blood exposure via needle stick and splash were 58.2% and 53.5% respectively. Higher rates of blood exposure were related to: injection (31.6% of all injuring procedures), needles used for injections (37.5% of all injuring devices), hands (97.2% of injured sites of the body), and day shift hours (61.9% of times of injuries).

Conclusion: The high rates of occupational exposure to blood among target population of this study highlights the urgent need for interventions to enhance their occupational safety as well as to protect the community against transmission of blood-borne infections. Establishing reporting and recording systems, and educational programs targeting medical students and staff are recommended.