Assessment of Factors Affecting Needle Stick and Sharp Injuries Among Health Professionals and Cleaners in Arba Minch General Hospital, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2015 G. C

Woiynshet Gebretsadik Kelebore

doi:10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.18

Abstract

Sharp piercing injuries to medical personnel are a piercing body trauma caused by sharp medical equipment used to screen, diagnose, treat or follow up patients’ conditions. More than 50 pathogens can be transmitted by sharp injury. Thus, this study was aimed at assessing Prevalence and factors that affect needle stick and sharp injuries among health Professionals and Cleaners in Arbaminch General Hospital..Facility based cross sectional study was used and the required sample was 187. Study participants were selected using systemic sampling method Detailed explanation and interpretation was made by presenting the data in the form of frequency, percentage using tables, graphs andBivariate analysis with a P-value <0.25 was employed to select candidate variables for the multivariable logistic regression to identify independent predictorsfor needle stick and sharp injury exposure. A total of 181 health professionals and cleaners were interviewed making a response rate of (181) 96.8%and75 (42.1%)had experienced needle stick and/or sharp injury at least once in the 12 months. Majority of the respondents172 (95.0%) were concerned about theneedle stick and sharp injury, of whom the risk was perceived high in 139 (76.8%) of the respondents. Monthly income, job satisfaction, and working in waste handling unit were the predictors for needle stick and sharp injury and.On job training to health professionals and cleaners and discussion with the hospital administrators on how to alleviate the problem is recommended

Highlights

Health care workers are at risk for infection from blood borne pathogens as a result of percutaneous injuries from sharps and from mucous membrane and skin exposures to contaminated blood or body fluids
health care workers (HCWs) in developing countries are at serious risk of Science Journal of Public Health 2016; 4(6): 463-469 infection from blood-borne pathogens hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) because of the high prevalence of such pathogens in many poorer regions of the world, especially they are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa [3, 18]
This study showed that health professionals and cleaners those who practice needle recap after use had four times more likely to be exposed for needle stick and sharp injury when compared with those who never practice recap of needle after use

Summary

Introduction

Health care workers are at risk for infection from blood borne pathogens as a result of percutaneous injuries from sharps and from mucous membrane and skin exposures to contaminated blood or body fluids. Occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens, hepatitis B, HCV, or HIV, can result in debilitating or fatal disease, and even when post exposure prophylaxis is timely and effective, treatments have serious health and economic consequences. HCWs in developing countries are at serious risk of Science Journal of Public Health 2016; 4(6): 463-469 infection from blood-borne pathogens hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) because of the high prevalence of such pathogens in many poorer regions of the world, especially they are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa [3, 18]. Workplaces in which there is the potential for blood borne pathogen exposures are required to have reporting systems under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) blood borne pathogen standard, workplaces may not implement them effectively or workers may not report to them [23]

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion