458-P: The Current Status and Influencing Factors of In-Home Handling of Disposable Needles among Diabetic Patients in Beijing

Abstract

Objective: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic progressive disease that requires insulin injection to control blood glucose at a certain stage of development, and the used needles are a high-risk medical waste. This study was to understand the current situation and influencing factors of disposable needles handling among diabetic patients treated by injection in Beijing. Methods: From October to November 2020, 420 diabetic patients were recruited from 3 tertiary hospitals and 3 community healthcare centers in Beijing. A questionnaire was conducted on disposal methods of injection needles at home. SPSS statistical software was used to establish the data set and to carry out data analysis. Results: 405 complete questionnaires were retrieved in this survey(the response rate 96.4%). The mean age of patients was 60.3±13.2 years. The average number of injections per day was 2.1±1.1. 73.3% of the patients were aware that needles may transmit diseases, and 71.6% believed that needles need harmless treatment, but only 37.0% of the patients had received education and training in needle treatment, of which 15.1% had used sharps disposal containers. The ways of patient’s disposal of needles were as follows: 64.2% of patients discarded to household waste, 31.6% of patients collected needles in bottles or other containers before discarded to household waste bins, only 3.7% of patients collected them in sharps containers and sent back to the hospital for harmless treatment. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that only “having received education in needle handling” was independently and positively associated with “needle properly disposed of” (OR = 7.317). Conclusion: Most of the patients did not properly handle the needles used in daily life. It is necessary to strengthen education on patients’ knowledge of correct disposal of medical waste, and relevant government authorities should take actions to strengthen the waste classification as soon as possible. Disclosure Y. Yang: None. L. Zhou: None.