Prevalence and associated factors of needle stick and sharps injuries among healthcare workers in northwestern Ethiopia

Study on needle stick injuries during surgery and blunt needle use for reducing occupational exposure and hygiene benefits

BACKGROUND

The conventional round suture needle poses a significant risk of needle stick injuries among surgical physicians, identified as a global occupational hazard by the World Health Organization, increasing hospital costs and exposure to bloodborne pathogens. While novel blunt suture needles have shown promise in reducing these risks, their adoption is limited domestically, prompting a study to compare their efficacy against traditional sharp needles in reducing needle stick injuries among surgical physicians.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate suture needle stick injuries among surgical doctors during operations and assess the application effectiveness of a novel blunt suture needle.

METHODS

A total of 106 surgical department physicians from March 2021 to February 2023 participated in the study. After completing a questionnaire survey on suture needle injuries during surgery, the participants were divided into two groups. Over a 6-month intervention period, the control group used regular round needles while the study group utilized novel blunt suture needles. Subsequently, suture needle injury incidence rates and economic hygiene benefits were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The suture needle injury questionnaire survey showed that over the past 6 months, among 106 surgical department physicians, 20 needle stick injuries occurred, yielding an incidence rate of 18.87%. The highest incidence (65.00%) was during suturing incisions longer than 10 cm, primarily when visibility was poor (70.00%). Surgeons linked most injuries (60.00%) to prolonged surgical duration causing fatigue. Although 85.00% detected injuries within 1 minute, only 40.00% were reported, often due to perceived reporting complexity. Following intervention, the study group had significantly fewer injuries per surgery and lower occupational exposure costs compared to the control group (p< 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Surgical department physicians commonly sustain suture needle injuries while suturing incisions of 5-10 cm length under poor visibility, exacerbated by prolonged surgical duration. Despite detecting most injuries within 1 minute, only 40% are reported. The implementation of novel blunt suture needles significantly decreases injury rates, resulting in reduced occupational exposure costs and favorable safety and economic hygiene outcomes.

Prevalence and associated factors of needlestick and sharp object injuries among healthcare workers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Needlestick and sharp object injuries affect healthcare workers. However, there are limitations in the evidence available for informed decision-making by stakeholders, as individual research shows inconsistent results. Therefore, this study aims to assess the pooled prevalence of needlestick and sharp object injuries and their associated factors.

Methods

MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other databases were searched from 5 September 2023 to 10 October 2023 using the following search terms: "Prevalence" OR "Burden" OR "Magnitude" AND "Associated factors" OR "related factors" OR "Risk factors" OR "determinants" OR "Predictors" AND "Needle stick Injury" OR "Sharp Injury" OR "Health care Workers" OR " Health Care Personnel" OR "Nurses" OR "Professional" AND "Ethiopia".

Results

The pooled prevalence of needle sticks and sharp objects injury was 40.5 (95% CI: 35.0, 45.9). Needle-stick (AOR, 2.3; 95% CI: 1.6, 3.3, P < 0.001], absence of routine precaution [AOR, 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.5, P < 0.01] and lack of training (AOR = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.4, 4.1, p < 0.001) had increased odds of needle-sticks and sharp objects injury.

Conclusion

Forty percent of healthcare workers in Ethiopia have experienced needlestick and sharp object injuries. The identified factors included recapping, absence of routine precautions, and lack of training.

Systematic Review Registration

PROSPERO, identifier (CRD42023462311).

Analysis of factors associated with needlestick injuries of clinical nurses by applying a human factor analysis and classification system: A nationwide cross-sectional survey

AIMS

This study aims to investigate the current situation of needlestick injuries (NSIs) of clinical nurses and identify associated factors by using the theoretical framework of the human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS).

DESIGN

A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted.

METHODS

Multi-stage sampling was used to investigate 3336 nurses in 14 Chinese hospitals. Descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate logistic regression were employed to reveal the rate of NSIs and their associated factors.

RESULTS

A total of 970 nurses (29.1%) reported having experienced at least one NSI in the past year. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that good hospital safety climate and clinical nurses in intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency department had protective effects against NSIs compared with nurses in internal medicine department. The nurse, senior nurse, and nurse in charge have significantly increased the risk for NSIs compared with the associate chief nurse or above. Patients with poor vision but wearing glasses and poor vision but not wearing glasses were more prone to have NSIs. Working in the operating room compared with internal medicine, average weekly working time of >45 h compared with ≤40 h and poor general health led to increased risk of NSIs.

CONCLUSION

The rate of NSIs in clinical nurses was high in China. Individual factors including professional title, department, visual acuity and general mental health and organisational factors including weekly working hours and hospital safety atmosphere were significantly correlated with the occurrence of NSIs.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Nursing managers should focused on physical and psychological conditions of clinical nurses, and organisational support is required to enhance the hospital safety atmosphere.

NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Contributions from patients or the public are irrelevant because this study aims to explore current situation and factors associated with NSIs in clinical nurses.

Study of behavioral and psychosocial factors relating to needle stick injuries in nursing staff of a tertiary care cancer hospital of Punjab, India

Background and Objectives

Needle stick injury (NSI) is the most dreaded occupational health hazard affecting a healthcare worker (HCW) psychologically and physically. The risk of infection post needle stick injury ranges between 1.9% to greater than 40% for HBV infections, 2.7-10% for HCV and 0.2-0.44% for HIV infections. As per National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) records, nursing staff is at highest risk (43%) followed by physicians (28%). The main objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge of nursing staff about needle stick injuries and to study factors leading to such incidents in their working areas, impart them knowledge regarding the same and fill gaps in knowledge.

Materials and Methods

This is a cross-sectional retrospective analysis involving nursing staff and students. p values were calculated using SPSS software.

Results

Overall NSI prevalence among nursing staff and students was 51.6% whereas in more exposed and less exposed group was 47.45% and 10.16% respectively (p=0.2056). The most common cause of NSI incident was recapping of needle (38.5%) followed by transferring needle to sharp container (35%).

Conclusion

Consequences of NSI are serious and this study has tried to emphasize on the need to study the factors leading to NSI.

Needlestick and Sharps Injuries Among Healthcare Workers at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Retrospective Single-Center Study

Background

Healthcare workers are still at risk from needlesticks and sharps injuries, which can expose them to blood-borne diseases like hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. We aimed to investigate the proportion of needlesticks and sharps injuries among healthcare workers in a tertiary care hospital in Somalia and also evaluate associated risk factors.

Materials and Methods

This retrospective study was conducted at the Mogadishu Somalia Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Training and Research Hospital. The data was retrieved from the hospital record of the infection prevention and control department over a six-year period between 2017 and 2022.

Results

There were a total of 233 needlestick and sharps injury incidents. The highest number of needlestick and sharps injury cases were reported among nurses (52.4%), followed by cleaners (22.3%), physicians (18.5%), and technicians (6.9%) during the six-year period. Operation theaters were the most frequent place (21.9%) where injuries happened, followed by inpatient care (17.6%) and emergency rooms (16.7%). The most commonly reported instrument that resulted in injuries was a hypodermic needle (81.1%). About 24.9% of the needles or sharps devices that caused needlestick and sharps injury cases were contaminated with hepatitis B. There was a significant difference between gender and place of injury for needlestick and sharps injuries (P=0.001).

Conclusion

Healthcare professionals around the world continue to face major health risks from needle stick and sharps injuries. The present study found that 8.6%of healthcare workers sustained a needle stick and sharps injuries incident in the past year. According to our findings, healthcare institutions need to regularly teach healthcare professionals, especially nurses and cleaners about the significance of needle stick and sharps injuries.

Determination and prioritization of factors affecting the occurrence of needle stick injuries among healthcare workers using techniques of Delphi and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP)

INTRODUCTION

Needlestick injuries (NSIs) are a major hazard in the workplace for healthcare workers. To prevent these injuries, it is essential to determine the important factors affecting the occurrence of them. This study aimed to identify, classify and prioritize these factors using techniques of Delphi and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP).

METHODS

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2022. Firstly, the factors affecting the occurrence of needlestick injuries were identified by the literature review. Moreover, the Delphi technique was used to identify the factors. 20 experts (physicians, nurses, and occupational health experts) participated in the steps of the Delphi method. Then, these factors were grouped into six groups. In the next step, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) was applied to prioritize the factors. For this purpose, the pairwise comparison questionnaire was designed and filled out by 20 experts. Finally, data were analyzed using MATLAB software (version 2018a).

RESULTS

42 factors (31 factors extracted from the literature review and 11 factors obtained from the Delphi technique) were identified in this study. These factors were categorized into six groups. Based on the results, the relative weight of non-demographic personal factors, tool and technology factors, job factors, organizational factors, demographic personal factors, and environmental factors were computed by 0.200, 0.185, 0.184, 0.157, 0.142, and 0.133, respectively.

CONCLUSION

These results determined the importance of the factors affecting the occurrence of needlestick injuries. These findings can be useful for planning preventive measures.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Needle Stick and Sharp Injuries Among King Salman Armed Forces Hospital Personnel in Tabuk City: A Retrospective Hospital-Based Study

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated characteristics of needle stick and sharp injuries (NSSIs) among King Salman Armed Forces Hospital (KSAFH) personnel.

METHODS

Data was collected by reviewing all reported NSSIs among KSAFH personnel between January 2020 to December 2022.

RESULTS

The prevalence of NSSIs was 2.05%, with nurses being the most commonly affected. Most injuries occurred in patients' rooms/wards and among health care workers (HCWs) aged < 40 years. Of the injured workers, 93.8% were immunized against hepatitis B virus (HBV).

CONCLUSION

Educational and training programs targeting high-risk age groups and professions should be developed. Policies related to locations and situations where injuries occur frequently should be reviewed regularly to reduce the risk of NSSIs.

Needle-Stick and Sharp Injuries among Hospital Healthcare Workers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Needle-stick or sharp injuries (NSIs) are critical occupational hazards for healthcare workers. Exposure to blood and body fluids through NSIs increases the risk of transmission of blood-borne pathogens among them. The objectives of this study were to estimate the annual incidence of NSIs and investigate the associated factors of NSIs among the healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between October and November 2021. A total of 361 healthcare workers participated in the survey from all over Saudi Arabia. The one-year incidence of at least one event of NSIs among the healthcare workers is estimated at 22.2% (95% CI: 18.0, 26.8). More than half of the injury events (53.8%) were not reported to the authority by the healthcare workers. Incidence of NSIs was highest among the physicians (36%) and was followed by nurses (34.8%), dentists (29.2%), and medical technologists (21.1%). The odds of NSIs was higher among the healthcare workers aged 26–30 years compared to the 20–25 years age group (OR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.04, 6.03), as well as among the workers who directly dealt with needles or other sharp objects while working compared to those who did not (OR: 5.9; 95% CI: 2.69, 12.97). The high incidence and low rate of reporting of NSIs highlights the need of education and awareness raising programs targeting healthcare providers with higher risk of injury.