Exploring the Factors Associated with Needle Stick Injuries Among Healthcare Workers at Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of Needle stick injuries (NSIs) and their associated factors among health care workers (HCWs).
Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs who were working at Nishtar Hospital Multan from 19-02-2023 to 1-12-2023. After approval from the institutional ethical committee, data was collected by face-to-face interviews with one hundred and ninety-five study participants selected through a non-probability convenient sampling technique. Data analysis, including descriptive and analytical statistics was carried out using SPSS Version 26.
Results: Out of 195 study participants, the frequency of NSI was 129 (66.2%), 187 (95.9%) had awareness of NSI. The most common factor responsible for NSI was work overload (26.7%). The majority of the participants (65.6%) did not attend any needle safety prevention workshop in the past six months. Practicing in medicine and surgery wards, not wearing a pair of gloves, the time of injury and not attending any workshop were statistically significant factors associated with NSI among HCWs.
Conclusion: In our study, the frequency of NSI was high among HCWs. It is critical to address this issue and train the HCWs by setting up regular training sessions for them due to their poor practices of safety devices and personal protective equipment, inadequate post-exposure response, underreporting response, and lack of awareness of these hazards.
Keywords: Needle stick injury, Risk factors, Healthcare workers, Tertiary care hospital.