Introduction:

Nursing professionals are exposed to accidents with sharp and cutting tools due to continuous and direct contact with them.

Objective:

To identify the predisposing factors influencing the occurrence of accidents with sharp and cutting tools.

Methods:

Study with a qualitative approach and based upon the theory grounded on the data. The theoretical referential of this study included the topic of symbolic interactionism. The sample consisted of 20 nursing professionals from a municipal public hospital in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview and analyzed under the coding procedures appropriate to the method, namely: open, axial and selective.

Results:

Two categories reveal the meaning attributed by the professionals to the accident with sharp and cutting tools: predisposing factors in the face of the dynamics of the service and the imprudence and inaccuracy in the practice of nursing professionals.

Conclusions:

The difficulties that mark the physical structure, the inadequate distribution of the staff, the physical-psychic state of the nursing workers and the deficit of material resources contribute significantly to the occurrence of accidents with sharp and cutting tools.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )