ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess exposure to body fluids among health care workers in Kaduna State hospitals. The study population comprises of all doctors, nurses, lab scientists and attendants working in Kaduna State hospitals. The sample size used for the study was 346 using the Yamane sample size selection formula. Stratified sampling method was used, the three existing senatorial zones served as strata. Each of the stratum was clustered according to the existing local government areas. Simple random sampling of deep and pick was used in selecting nine state hospitals, three from each senatorial zone. Purposive sampling was further used to select nine local governments that have hospitals. Proportionate sampling was used at the various selected state hospitals to distribute questionnaires to the health workers. The 346 questionnaires were administered out of which 297 (85.8%) were retrieved. The data collected was analysed using one-way analysis of variance and t-test at 0.05 level of confidence. A constant mean of 2.5 was used to ascertain the agreement of the respondents on the questionnaire items. Findings from the study showed that there were a significant difference in gender and job category in predisposing the healthcare workers in Kaduna State hospitals to body fluid hazards. It was, therefore, recommended that the state government should provide protective devices against body fluid hazards for healthcare workers in Kaduna State hospitals, there is a need to overhaul the approaches to handling hazardous materials in-line with WHO standard, this will help to prevent exposure of healthcare workers in Kaduna State hospitals to body fluid hazards.