Prevalence and causes of unreported needle stick injuries among health care workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives Health care workers (HCWs) are exposed to needle needles daily. Despite individual studies, there is no statistics on the prevalence of unreported needle stick injuries (NSIs) have been reported. This study was performed to determine the prevalence and causes of unreported NSIs among HCWs. Content In present systematic review and meta-analysis study, three international databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed) were searched from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2018. The random model was used to determine the prevalence of unreported needle stick among HCWs. Summary and outlook Forty-one studies performed on 19,635 health care workers entered the final stage. Based-on random effect model, pooled prevalence of unreported needle stick injuries was 59.9% (95% CI: 52.0, 67.7; I2=98.9%). The most common cause of unreported NSIs was: They were not worried about NSIs (n=12). The high prevalence of unreported needle sticks injuries indicates the urgency and necessity of paying attention to strategies to improve reporting among health workers.

The Effects of Nurses' Personal and Professional Characteristics on Needle Stick Injuries

Background: Nurses face many professional dangers such as needle stick injuries. This study investigated the effects of nurses' personal and professional characteristics on needle stick injuries. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was performed on 200 nursing staff in a hospital. The sampling method was the classified method. Participants were asked to complete a researcher-made questionnaire on personal characteristics (age, work experience, gender, marital status, and educational level) and job (work department, number of shifts per month, and type of work shift). Also, the number of their needle stick events was extracted from their medical records. Results: The prevalence of needle sticks was 45.5%. Based on individual characteristics, the mean age and work experience of people with a history of needle stick are significantly lower than people without a history of needle stick (P <0.03). There was a significant relationship between needle stick history and educational level (P <0.00). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups without and with a history of needle stick in terms of marital status (P = 0.11) and gender (P = 0.13). Based on job characteristics, there were significant relationships between the history of needle stick with the variables of type of work shift (P = 0.00) and the number of shifts per month (P <0.00). Conclusion: Some personal and professional characteristics effective in needle sticking were identified. These findings can be used as a guide to prioritize individuals to take precautionary measures against needle sticking.

Assessment of needle stick injuries among healthcare workers: A cross-sectional study from Kakiri military and SOS hospitals, Uganda

The Ugandan military medical services work together with the civilian public health system to deliver quality healthcare. This Partnership is the mainstay of health service delivery in Uganda. The burden of needle stick injuries (NSIs) is increasing in Uganda’s larger health industry; however, data on needle stick injury in military and public health facilities is lacking. No published data exist on comparative studies for a mix of facilities both military and civilian health settings. This study represents the first time this issue has been studied in a military or public health hospital in Uganda. A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2018 to September 2019 in Kakiri Military and SOS Hospitals in Uganda using a structured questionnaire. Respondents were purposively selected based on the objectives of study, occupation status and department (N = 310). The overall prevalence of NSIs among respondents was 27.2% and prevalence rates for the two facilities was nearly identical. The largest percentage of NSIs occurred during drawing venous blood samples (49.4%). Significant predictors of NSI were gender, occupational status, age, poor knowledge on prevention and post exposure of NSI, and less professional experience. Infection control practices were lacking in both selected health facilities. Over a quarter of HCWs in Uganda reported NSIs, which places them at significant health risk. Fostering the practice of universal precautions, best infection control practices and training of healthcare workers on bio-safety measures can reduce the prevalence of NSIs.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices towards Needle Stick Injuries among Students and Staff in a Tertiary Medical Centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Background: Needle stick injuries are one of the greatest fears that revolves around the health care workers all over the world, and the majority of them are avoidable by following proper precautionary methods in handling the devices. Even though, by following the precautionary methods, a few accidents may happen a few times and thus resulting in a needle stick injury. The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices towards Needle stick injuries among students and staff in a tertiary medical centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude, practices about needle stick injuries among students and staff in a tertiary medical centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Saveetha Medical College and Hospital. Our study included students and staff of the institution, irrespective of their age and sex. Data collection was carried out using a standardized questionnaire. Results: 62.1% of the participants know the last universal precaution guidelines of needle stick injuries management. 83.3% are fully vaccinated with anti-HBV.70.9% always use gloves when deal with needles. 14.3% had Needle stick Injury. 40.9% strongly believe that needle stick injury can be prevented. Since adequate awareness is created by the institution, participants in this study have higher knowledge, attitude and practices when compared to reference studies.

A Study of Needle Stick Injuries among Nursing College Students in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu

Introduction: Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are the most potential occupational hazards among nursing personnel with possible transmission of blood borne pathogens. As nursing students are in the learning stage, they might be at higher risk of acquiring the injuries.Objectives: Todetermine the prevalence of needle stick injuries and to assess the awareness, attitude and practices followed with regard to NSIs.Methodology: An online cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2020 among 175 students in a nursing college in Chengalpattu district Tamil Nadu, using a pretested semi- structured questionnaire, adopting universal sampling technique. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Categorical variables were summarized as Percentages and chi square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of needle stick injury among nursing college students was 16%.Final year studentsweremore exposed to the injuries(35.7%). Majority (96.57%) of the students were aware about universal precaution guidelines, 57% of students were aware about the diseases transmitted by NSI, 97.71% were aware about safety devices and 67.43% of students were aware about the post-exposure prophylaxis in management of NSIs.Among the students, 71.43% had used gloves regularly, 72% were immunized against Hepatitis B, only 25.71% of students attended Integrated Counselling Testing Centre(ICTC) and more than half of the students always practiced recapping needle after giving injections. Conclusion: Majority of the students in this study were aware about NSIs, their attitude towards NSIs was agreeable. The practices reported though assessed through online survey was found to be deficient.Periodic education and training need to be done to avoid injuries in future.

Needle Stick Injuries among Health Care Workers in AL-Madinah AL-Munawara Governmental Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Needle stick injuries are a dangerous occupational hazard that threatens health care workers with serious consequences in many cases. Because of inadequate reporting of these incidents, the true magnitude of the problem is unknown. The study&rsquo;s aim was to investigate the epidemiology of needle stick injuries (NSIs) among health care workers in Al Madinah Al Munawara, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A representative sample of health care workers (n=268) were randomly selected from emergency departments of three general hospitals in Al Madinah Al Munawara for a cross-sectional study, and 219 responded to a predesigned questionnaire reflecting exposure to NSI, reporting, post-exposure reactions, and knowledge about NSIs. RESULTS: Almost one third of the participating medical professionals 70 (32%) had been exposed to stick injury during work. One half of the needles (52.9%) were blood stained. Nurses are significantly more likely to have stick injury (38.6%) followed by physicians (30.4%) if compared to laboratory technicians (13.9%) at the p-value of less than 0.05. The main purposes during injuries were drawing blood sample 33 (47.1%), injection 31 (44.3%) and suturing 23 (32.9%). Almost all injured personnel (97.1%) cleaned the injury site immediately and thoroughly. Out of the injured personnel, 50 (71.4%) reported the incident to authorities. A significantly higher proportion of physicians (91.3%) achieved above average score if compared to both lab technicians (72.2%) and nurses (76.3%) at the p-value of less than 0.05. CONCLUSION: Occupational needle stick injuries are fairly common among health care workers at Al Madinah Al Munawara&rsquo;s governmental hospitals. In hospitals, deliberate efforts should be made to ensure adherence to safety guidelines governing needle stick injuries.

Needle Stick Injuries among Health Care Workers in AL-Madinah AL-Munawara Governmental Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Needle stick injuries are a dangerous occupational hazard that threatens health care workers with serious consequences in many cases. Because of inadequate reporting of these incidents, the true magnitude of the problem is unknown. The study&rsquo;s aim was to investigate the epidemiology of needle stick injuries (NSIs) among health care workers in Al Madinah Al Munawara, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A representative sample of health care workers (n=268) were randomly selected from emergency departments of three general hospitals in Al Madinah Al Munawara for a cross-sectional study, and 219 responded to a predesigned questionnaire reflecting exposure to NSI, reporting, post-exposure reactions, and knowledge about NSIs. RESULTS: Almost one third of the participating medical professionals 70 (32%) had been exposed to stick injury during work. One half of the needles (52.9%) were blood stained. Nurses are significantly more likely to have stick injury (38.6%) followed by physicians (30.4%) if compared to laboratory technicians (13.9%) at the p-value of less than 0.05. The main purposes during injuries were drawing blood sample 33 (47.1%), injection 31 (44.3%) and suturing 23 (32.9%). Almost all injured personnel (97.1%) cleaned the injury site immediately and thoroughly. Out of the injured personnel, 50 (71.4%) reported the incident to authorities. A significantly higher proportion of physicians (91.3%) achieved above average score if compared to both lab technicians (72.2%) and nurses (76.3%) at the p-value of less than 0.05. CONCLUSION: Occupational needle stick injuries are fairly common among health care workers at Al Madinah Al Munawara&rsquo;s governmental hospitals. In hospitals, deliberate efforts should be made to ensure adherence to safety guidelines governing needle stick injuries.

Prevalence, student nurses’ knowledge and practices of needle stick injuries during clinical training: a cross-sectional survey

Background The incidence of needle stick injuries is higher among nurses with a low level of knowledge on the prevention of needle stick injury, and who have not received the relevant training during their undergraduate study. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge of the prevention guidelines and the prevalence of needle stick injury among students in Oman. Methods An online cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire and involving 167 students from a governmental university was conducted. The questionnaire consists of 30 questions; eight general questions, knowledge related questions, and questions about risk factors, prevention measures, and actions in a case of needle stick injury. Ethical approval was obtained and the link to the survey was shared with students using their university email portal. Results Of the participants, 81.2% were females; mean age was 23.3 (SD = 4.5) years. The mean total knowledge score was 6.6 out of 10 (SD = 2.1). In addition, 18.2% (n = 32) of the students experienced needle stick injury. Most of the injuries 71.9% (n = 24) occurred during medication preparation and administration. The main cause of NSI as reported by students was recapping the needles (59%, n = 19). Conclusions This study demonstrates that student nurses have a moderate level of knowledge about needle stick injury prevention measures and lack many facets of safe infection control practice. These findings require the collaborative effort of nursing administrators from both academic and clinical areas, to develop effective strategies to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of needle stick injury.

Effectiveness of Teaching Programme on Knowledge of GNM - II Year Students regarding Prevention of Needle Stick Injuries at Ancillary Medical Training School, Shireen Bagh, Srinagar

Background: Though mostly needle stick injuries cause just minor trauma and bleeding, yet, even without trauma and bleeding, the danger of contamination and infection remains. Thus, a needle stick injury may represent a hazard for a patient if the injured health professional carries hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus or human immunodeficiency virus. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of teaching programme on knowledge of GNM-II year students regarding prevention of needle stick injuries at Ancillary Medical Training School, Shireen Bagh, Srinagar. Methods: In this study, a total of 50 GNM - II year students were included fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A self-structured knowledge questionnaire was used as the research tool. Demographic variables such as place of residence, educational status of father, educational status of mother, occupation of father, occupation of mother, and previous exposure to information related to needle stick injuries were obtained. Results: The findings of the present study revealed that there was a statistically significant association between the pre-test knowledge scores of study subjects with and previous exposure to information (p = 0.007) while no significant association was found between the pre-test knowledge scores of study subjects and other demographic variables like residence (p = 0.785), educational status of father (p = 0.435), educational status of mother (p = 0.345), occupation of father (p = 0.851) and occupation of mother (p = 0.881). Conclusion: This study reveals the importance of educational programmes, skill training programmes, conferences, workshops and educational meetings to enhance the nursing students’ knowledge regarding the prevention of needle stick injuries.