Abstract:
Background: Needle stick and sharp injuries have been recognized as one of the Occupational hazards among health care workers. Occupational exposures to needle stick and sharp injuries are substantial source of infections with blood borne pathogens among health care workers and can cause substantial health consequences and psychological stress for Health Care Workers .Needle sticks and sharp injuries increase risk of spread of diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.
Objective: To determine the magnitude of needle stick and sharp injuries and associated factors among Dessie city hospitals health care workers.
Method: Institution based quantitative cross sectional study design was conducted from March 21-April21/2015, among health care workers who are working at least one year in Dessie city hospitals. Data was collected by structured and pretested questionnaire. The study includes 438 health care workers who were selected from the source population using simple random sampling technique. The collected data were checked, coded and entered EPI-info version 3.5.1 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with needle stick and sharp injuries. Finally the P-value<0.05, results were presented with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) as well as appropriate tables and graphs.
Results: The magnitude of needle stick and sharps injuries in the last 12 months was 124(28.3%), of which 92(74.2%) was reported by male and the rest 32(25.8%) by females. Being male [AOR: 4.25, 95%CI:(2.43,7.41)],had no safety instructions in the work area[AOR:2.27,95%CI: (1.29,3.97)],had no training on safety and health[AOR:4.92,95%CI:(2.75,8.79)],had ≤ 5 years work experience [AOR:9.0,95%CI:(4.88,16.60)],recapping of used needle [AOR: 2.63, 95%CI :(1.39, 4.99)] were the variables that significantly associated with needle stick and sharps injuries.
Conclusion: This study showed high magnitude of needle stick and sharp injuries among healthcare workers. Lack of safety instructions, no occupational health and safety services like training on occupational health hazards and safety issues, recap of used needle and years of experience <5 which expose health care workers to the risk of NSSIs . Therefore, training on OSH, making available of safety instruction, and avoiding of recap of needle after used are important to reduce the risk of such injuries among health Care workers.
