SAFEGUARDING CAREGIVERS
Study focuses on surgical glove safety
As a young nurse earning her doctorate in the late
1980s, Denise Korniewicz, D.N.Sc., R.N., F.A.A.N.,
spent weekends working in emergency rooms and
intensive care units, where many of her patients had highly
infectious diseases. One day, after removing her gloves, she
found blood on her hands. Since then, she has devoted her
career to patient and health care worker safety.
The first researcher in the country to study barrier quality
and protection of vinyl and latex gloves, Korniewicz has
increased the body of scientific knowledge on the subject and
was instrumental in changing FDA standards on the quality
control of gloves.
"When I found blood on my hands, I had to wonder if
gloves really provided a safe barrier," Korniewicz says."The
next step was to develop a way to test the efficacy of
gloves to see if they really provide protection to health care
workers."
Her latest project investigates the effectiveness of surgical
gloves in protecting against sharp and needlestick injuries.
Korniewicz has been awarded a four-year $1 million grant
from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
to investigate the use of blunt needles, glove indicator
systems, and retractable blades to determine if these safety
devices decrease the incidence of injury during surgery.
Korniewicz is working with nurses and physicians in
the operating rooms at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial
Medical Center to collect data for her study."With
health care workers, 75 percent of needlestick injuries
occur in hospital settings," she says. "Individuals in the operating
room report injuries much less frequently. I want to
provide data to people who work in the O.R. so they will
increase protection and decrease risk."
This major nursing research study is the first of its
kind at UM/Jackson and involves more than 400 health care
workers, including nurses, scrub technicians, and surgeons.
The project is unique in encompassing both hospital and
University staff and will continue until December 2005.
