Risk management approach of needle stick and sharp injuries among nurses, Saudi Arabia: An interventional study

Abstract

Background/aim Nurses are the most frequent health occupational group to suffer from needle stick and sharp injuries (NSI), which puts nurses under the risk to acquire serious blood-borne diseases. The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of NSIs among nurses, and to assess their knowledge and evaluate the effect of intervention on raising knowledge, awareness, and decreasing the incidence of NSIs. Patients and methods An intervention study was carried out among all nurses of both sexes working at a military hospital in Saudi Arabia during the period from February 2015 to May 2016. The study was carried out in three phases, the pre-intervention phase where data collection was carried out using a questionnaire, the second phase where health education and a training program were provided to the nurses, followed by the post-intervention assessment after 1 year of the intervention. Results The incidence of NSIs among nurses decreased after the intervention from 9.42 to 3.93%. Whereas the total knowledge score increased from 54.45 to 91.57%. After intervention, all incidents were reported and had proper management after exposure, whereas before intervention 66.67% reported the incident and 55.56% had proper management after exposure. Conclusion Health education and training program provided to the nurses about NSIs had a great effect on decreasing the incidence and raising the knowledge and awareness of nurses toward reporting and proper management after exposure.