Abstract:
Objectives: To assess the level of awareness, prevalence and risk factors of Needle-stick and sharps injuries (NSSIs) in Tanta university hospitals (TUHs), Egypt to develop a well stablished preventive strategy.
Methods: A total of 662 healthcare workers (HCWs) including nurses and physicians, who attended at work during the last six months of 2019. Data were collected on a structured questionnaire distributed during their working time.
Results: Of 662 participated HCWs, 486 were nurses and 176 were physicians. Good awareness (86.1% and 83.1%) of the participants about the safe injection policy and sharp disposal after use was observed. Nurses showed significantly higher percentage of poor awareness score (79.1%) than physicians (20.9%). NSSIs in our hospitals reached 60.4%. Nurses (67.9%) had higher risk of NSSIs than physicians (39.8%), p<0.001. NSSIs were significantly less likely to occur in HCWs who were aware of safe injection and sharp disposal policies. NSSIs were frequent with specimen collection (16.4%), injections (15.5%) and sharp disposal (14.6%). Only 110 (27.5%) have reported their injuries.
Conclusion: A comprehensive program that addresses institutional, behavioral and device-related factors that contribute to the occurrence of NSSIs and reporting systems are needed.
Reference:
Sabaa MA, Hassan AM, Abd-Alla AK, Hegazy EE, Amer WH. Needle stick- sharp injuries: awareness, prevalence and risk factors of a global problem in healthcare workers at Tanta University Hospitals, Egypt. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2021 Mar 11:1-40. doi: 10.1080/10803548.2021.1901445. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33704007.