scholarly journals NSI: A major occupational hazards among the health care workers in Nepal

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaita Mondal

A percutaneous piercing wound as in needle stick injury is a typically set by a needle point, but possibly also by other sharp instruments or objects. These events are of concern because of the risk to transmit blood-borne diseases through the passage of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus which causes AIDS. The present study was done to determine the risk status regarding NSI among health care workers of Private Hospitals, Pokhara, Nepal. Samples were selected through purposive sampling. Self administered questionnaire & risk assessment tool were used to collect data. Study revealed that majority of health care workers were females (93%) with mean age of 22.66 years (±3.1). Sixty eight percent had got NSI, among them 41% had NSI more than 2times in life. Maximum NSI cases happened either by recapping of the needle (18%) or during disposal of sharps (16%) or while transferring a body fluid (blood) to a specimen bottle (15%). The study concludes that majority of health workers had NSI more than two times which denotes NSI is a major occupational hazard. Cases happened either by recapping of the needle or during disposal of sharps or while transferring a body fluid to a specimen bottle. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v3i1.9098   International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, Vol 3 No 1 (2013) 22-25

Author(s):  
Humaira Bashir ◽  
Syed Shuja Qadri

Background: Needle stick injury among health workers is regarded as an occupational hazard. Health care workers are at risk of having blood-borne diseases in case they are exposed to blood and other biological samples of the patients. Moreover, staff including doctors working in tertiary care hospitals has high work load which results in increased chances of getting these injuries. The aim and objectives of this study were to find out the prevalence of needle stick injury among different categories of health care workers. Authors also aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices associated with it.Methods: A hospital based cross sectional study design to know the prevalence of needle stick injury among various health care workers of Karpagam Faculty of Medical Sciences and Research, a tertiary level care hospital in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. A total of 250 health care workers were selected for the study purpose. A self-designed, semi-structured, pre-tested questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of needle stick injuries and the factors associated with it.Results: A majority of health care workers (94%) knew about needle stick injury and 92% were aware that HIV can be transmitted through needle stick injury, 78.4% and 69.65% were aware of Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-C transmission respectively. About 28.4% of subjects had encountered needle stick injury in their past. Furthermore, it was found that type of exposure and place of exposure was significantly associated with different categories of health care workers (p <0.001).Conclusions: Prevention of health workers against needle stick injury is the best possible way to prevent several bloods borne diseases. There should be a prevention programme which special focus on training of health care workers. Further strategies aiming at preventive measures and reporting of the Needle stick injuries accidents should be made compulsory among health care workers.


Author(s):  
Jurimoni Gogoi ◽  
Sultana Jesmin Ahmed ◽  
Hiranya Saikia ◽  
Ratna Sarma

Background: The objective of study was to determine prevalence of needle stick injuries among health care workers in a tertiary care hospital of Assam and to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices on needle stick injuries among them.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted from June 2016 to August 2016 amongst health care workers of a tertiary care centre of Assam. Sample size was calculated to be 90. A total of 10 departments were selected purposively based on their magnitude of risk exposure and the required sample size was allocated proportionally among these 10 departments. The required numbers of health workers from each of the ten departments were selected by using simple random sampling. A predesigned and pretested proforma was used to collect the data. Data were presented in terms of percentages and significance was tested using chi-square and Fisher’s exact test.Results: Prevalence of needle stick injury among the health workers was found to be 21.1%. Regarding spread of diseases after an accidental needle stick injury, 100% were aware of HIV, 98.9% were aware of Hepatitis B and 67.8% were aware of Hepatitis C. Regarding their attitude to report to in-charge medical officer, only 21.1% had reported about their injury. Around 58.9% of health care workers used gloves regularly for prevention of such injuries. Practice of recapping among the health care workers was 66.7% and out of total needle stick injuries, recapping contributed to 26.3%. While considering sharp waste disposal, 37.8% health care workers did not follow proper waste disposal guidelines. Only 26.3% of health care workers had done screening for HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B after their injury.Conclusions: There is a need to have a pre-employment training to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding accidental needle stick injuries among the health care workers. 


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tirthankar Ghosh

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v3i1.9096 International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, Vol 3 No 1 (2013) 1 - 4


BJS Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhys Owens ◽  
Jonathan Sandoe ◽  
Andrew Whyte ◽  
Robert West ◽  
Mandy Slatter ◽  
...  

Abstract Background False penicillin allergy labels can be potentially hazardous to patients. Most penicillin allergy labels can be safely removed following risk stratification and formal drug challenge. These de-labelling strategies have been limited to specialist allergy and infectious disease services. Aims To determine whether non-allergy specialist health-care workers can use an antibiotic allergy assessment tool (AAAT) to correctly phenotype and manage reported penicillin allergy. Method Non-allergy health-care workers in three UK hospital were emailed online questionnaires and asked to assign the allergy phenotype and management recommendation for eight vignettes of real cases reporting a penicillin allergy using the AAAT. In one hospital participants were randomised into two groups: one group was directed to use the AAAT whilst the second group had no decision tool. Participants were assigned an average score for correct allergy phenotype, management and a major error rate. Results Use of the AAAT across the eight vignettes significantly improved the average score for assigning correct phenotype (6.7 vs 5.2 p &lt; 0.001), management choice (7.1 vs 5.7 p &lt; 0.001), and major error rate (0.6 vs 1.6 p &lt; 0.001). Participant performance with the AAAT was generalizable across all three hospitals. Despite use of the AAAT 35-40% of participants made at least one major error. Conclusion The AAAT significantly improved health worker performance in phenotyping and choosing correct management for reported penicillin. However, even with the AAAT, there remains a risk of potentially hazardous management choices highlighting the need for formal allergy training to expand penicillin allergy assessment services.


2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Bi ◽  
Phillip J. Tully ◽  
Karen Boss ◽  
Janet E. Hiller

To examine sharps injury and body fluid exposure among health care workers, a descriptive epidemiological study was conducted in a 1000-bed tertiary hospital between 2000 and 2003 using surveillance data of all reported sharps injuries and body fluid exposures. A total of 640 sharps injuries and body fluid exposures were reported from hospital and nonhospital staff, although no seroconversions to HIV, hepatitis B virus, or hepatitis C virus were observed during the study period. Nurses reported 47% of sharps injuries and 68% of body fluid exposures, medical staff reported 38% and 16%, and other nonmedical staff notified 5% and 4%, respectively, while nonhospital staff reported the rest. Hollow-bore needles accounted for 56% of sharps injuries, while 11% of the incidents were sustained during recapping and inappropriate disposal. Further research into Australian work practices, disposal systems, education strategies, and the use of safety sharps should be emphasized to implement strategies to reduce work-related injuries among health care workers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 59-65
Author(s):  
V. Fedorchuk-Moroz ◽  
M. Rudynets ◽  
M.-B. Moroz

Problem. In modern conditions as health care workers are fighting the coronavirus infection, the state of their occupational safety and hygiene needs to be studied. The article is devoted to this problem.Aim. The work aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of occupational safety and hygiene of health care workers and develop recommendations for its improvement in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Research methods. During performing the research used complex methods of scientific knowledge: the philosophi-cal (dialectical), general (methods of complex, formal-logical and systematic analysis and synthesis) and comparative-law.The object of the study is the safety and hygiene of health care workers.The scientific novelty lies in a comprehensive study of theoretical and practical aspects of occupational safety and hygiene of medical workers to reduce occupational injuries and occupational diseases, as well as to lower the degree of occupational risks.Results. The article considers the state of occupational safety and health of health care workers, who in the performance of their professional duties face a whole range of dangerous and harmful factors that can lead to the development of occupational diseases. Coronavirus infection paid particular attention. The article analyzes the latest research and publications on this issue, examines current law and regulations, considers the rights of physicians to healthy and safe working conditions.Conclusions and recommendations. In order to improve the state of occupational safety and hygiene of health care workers we recommend: to resume the operation of sanitary and epidemiological services in the country; to continue the educational training of epidemiologists and hygienists in universities; to ensure the organization of special training for all employees of medical institutions on modern methods of infection prevention, post-exposure prevention, as well as measures and means of infection control (introductory - during employment, periodic - once a year before the annual outbreak of infectious diseases, target - in case of sudden mass outbreaks of dangerous infections and their significant spread or after an occupational accident (infection)); to oblige to teach occupational safety disciplines in universities of medical profiles; at the state level to provide for the establishment of an appropriate system of occupational safety and health in the field of health care; to carry out obligatory assessment of working conditions and determination of the category of severity of work of medical workers; to provide all medical workers involved in the fight against infectious diseases with personal protective equipment at the required amount; to provide rational working and leisure conditions for medical workers in order to protect and preserve their health and ability to work; to ensure proper control over com-pliance with safety requirements when working with equipment that is a source of physically hazardous and harmful production factors; to carry out constant control over the amount of chemical and biological substances in the air of the working zone, air ionization, not allowing the maximum permissible concentrations to be exceeded.


2020 ◽  
pp. 155982761989697
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Guerin ◽  
David A. Sleet

Work-related morbidity and mortality are persistent public health problems across all US industrial sectors, including health care. People employed in health care and social services are at high risk for experiencing injuries and illnesses related to their work. Social and behavioral science theories can be useful tools for designing interventions to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses and can provide a roadmap for investigating the multilevel factors that may hinder or promote worker safety and health. Specifically, individual-level behavioral change theories can be useful in evaluating the proximal, person-related antecedents (such as perceived behavioral control) that influence work safety outcomes. This article (1) provides a brief overview of widely used, individual-level behavior change theories and examples of their application to occupational safety and health (OSH)–related interventions that involve the health care community; (2) introduces an integrated theory of behavior change and its application to promoting the OSH of health care workers; and (3) discusses opportunities for application of individual-level behavior change theory to OSH research and practice activities involving health care workers. The use of behavioral science to consider the role of individual behaviors in promoting health and preventing disease and injury provides a necessary complement to structural approaches to protecting workers in the health care industry.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Kemunto Caroline Nyariki ◽  
Kimeli Matthew Chirchir

among health care workers in Kenyan public referral hospitals, especially to establish the place of health care worker training, personal protective equipment, occupational safety and health standards in influencing adoption of occupational safety and health practices.Methodology: The cross-sectional survey research study was based on data from 80 medical staff collected using a structured questionnaire from Baringo county referral hospital in Kenya. Data was diagnostically screened to determine Measure of Sampling Adequacy through Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity for detection of adequacy of correlations between the variables. Factor analysis was used as a dimensions reduction technique to identify predictors and principal components that accounted most for adoption of occupations safety and health practices among health care workers while Wald Chi-square test of model fit was used to determine if predictors in the principal components significantly influenced adoption of occupational safety and health practices while regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between principal components established through factor analysis.Findings: The study concluded that from the total of 20 factors under study, seven factors accounted most in determining adoption of occupational safety and health practices among health care workers in Kenyan public referral hospitals; they are staffed capacity building through training, implementation of safety and health guidelines, wearing of safety gear, provision of standard operating procedures on PPEs, training needs analysis, provision of information to staff on guidelines and sensitization on risks.Unique contributions to practice and policy: The study recommends that, County Executive Committee member for health through the Medical Superintendent should make necessary budgetary allocations towards staff training, organize and implement specialized training in occupational safety and health for their staff as a matter of priority. The medical superintendent should put in place a robust mechanism that ensures consistent implementation of safety and health guidelines in their facilities. He should further cause an audit of PPEs and ensure deficits on PPEs are included in the next and subsequent financial year procurement plan. The Human Resource Officers should on continuous basis utilizing continuous education approach, organise staff sensitization particularly to sensitize staff on wearing of safety gear, standard operating procedures on PPEs and preview of applicable guidelines and sensitization on risks.


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