scholarly journals A cross sectional study on needle stick and sharp injuries among health care providers in tertiary centers, Tamil Nadu

Author(s):  
Archana Lakshmi P. A. ◽  
Ashrof Raja ◽  
Meriton Stanly A. ◽  
Christina Mary Paul ◽  
Gladius Jennifer H.

Background: Health care workers are at risk of acquiring life threatening blood borne infections through needle stick and sharp injuries (NSSI) in their work place. This study was planned to highlight some important factors responsible for NSSI and possible measures to reduce it. The objective of the study was to assess the factors associated with NSSI and reasons for under-reporting. Methods: A cross sectional study was done during November 2014 to April 2015 in two tertiary health care institutions. All health care providers (Doctors, nurses and lab technicians) who had more than one year experience and gave informed consent were included. Data collected by pretested structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS 20v and summarized by descriptive statistics. Proportion and Chi-square was calculated at 5% α. Results: Among 950 health care providers (HCPS), 649 (68.3%) had NSSI during their carrier, 335 (35.3%) in last one year. Females 225 (67.2%) experienced more NSSI. This study shows that, 98 (29.3%) HCPs had sustained injury once. Among the doctors, 51.4% Anaesthetist (p=0.001) and its more among the nurses (38.4%) followed by doctors (36.6%) (p=0.002). NSSI was more common among HCP who work between 30-40 hrs (p=0.00001). Majority of them sustained injury while performing the procedure 134 (40%), commonest place of injury was OT 149 (44.5%) and commonest item responsible was hypodermic needle 141 (42.1%). Only 50 (14.9%) reported to the concerned authority and follow up action was taken. Conclusions: The study shows high prevalence of NSSI, emphasizing the need for safe measures for handling sharps to prevent transmission of infection. 

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
EmmanuelObiora Izuka ◽  
ObinnaChinedu Nwafor ◽  
JosephTochukwu Enebe ◽  
IfeanyichukwuJude Ofor ◽  
ChineloElizabeth Obiora-Izuka ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansoor Ahmed ◽  
Hyea Bin Im ◽  
Jung Hye Hwang ◽  
Dongwoon Han

Abstract Background Pregnant women’s disclosure of herbal medicine (HM) use to their health care providers during pregnancy is crucial, as misuse of HM can have a detrimental effect on both pregnant woman and the fetus. However, the lack of disclosure of HM use to physicians remains a public health concern in developing countries such as Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 postpartum women admitted at Maternity and Women’s Hospital located in Kathmandu, Nepal. The survey instrument included 30 questions on the use of HM during pregnancy, sociodemographic and health characteristics, and pregnancy outcomes. Chi-square test and logistic regression were conducted for data analysis using SPSS ver. 21.0., and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses. Results 60.3% of respondents used at least one herbal remedy during their previous pregnancy, and the overall disclosure rate of HM use to healthcare providers was 54.6%. Women with secondary education level and four or more antenatal care visits were more likely to disclose their HM use to healthcare providers. Conclusions This study highlights that despite the popular use of HM among pregnant women in Nepal, most women obtained HM-related information from informal sources and did not disclose their HM use to physicians. To ensure the safe use of HM, physicians should integrate questions regarding patients’ HM use into their routine patient assessments to facilitate active communication and improve the quality of care.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Asfaw Erku

Background.Today, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is being routinely practiced by cancer patients worldwide. This study aimed at examining the prevalence of CAM use in patients with cancer and comparing the quality of life (QoL) in CAM users and nonusers.Methods.A cross-sectional study was employed on 195 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at Gondar University Referral Hospital (GURH) chemotherapy center. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used and the collected data were analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0 for Windows.Results.154 (79%) patients were found to be users of CAM. Educational status, average monthly income, disease stage, and comorbidity were strong predictors of use of CAM. The most commonly utilized types of CAM were traditional herbal based medicine (72.1%) and only 20.8% of patients discuss with their doctors CAM use. No significant difference was found in QoL between CAM users and nonusers except in financial difficulties (p=0.020).Conclusions.This study revealed a high rate of CAM use with very low disclosure rate to their health care providers. Health care providers should be open to discuss the use of CAM with their patients as it will lead to better health outcome.


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