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NEEDLE STICK INJURIES AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL’S WORKING IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN KARACHI

Salimah Sohail Dossa, Musarrat Jehan, Imran Bakar, Aneel Aslam, Zameer Haider Leghari, Muhammad Adnan Kanpurwala

Objective: To understand the knowledge of needle stick injuries and healthcare professional’s practices at tertiary care hospital, Karachi. To recognize associated factors to implement a suitable action plan. Methodology: The study was accomplished among 404 healthcare employees of tertiary care hospitals, Karachi. Data was collected by self-administered questionnaire and then analyzed through SPSS V 19.0. Results: Out of 404 healthcare workers, 83.17% were actively involved in the act of administration any form of injection during their duties. But only 28.96% of the total population is trained and educated regarding needle stick practices (p<0.001). Apart from, the study pointed out that 71.3% HCPs are not aware in the department. The policies systematized because they are actually unaware of the institutional policies and protocols for occupational health and safety (p<0.001). Not only that, but 64.9% participants refused to use the universal precaution at the workplace. It is due to either lack of resources, carelessness or too much workload. 37.1% HCPs reported that sharps boxes are available all the time for their health safety (p<0.001). 62.1% HCPs has sustained needle stick injuries either once or more in last 12 months. Unfortunately, 85.3% people are inoculated with Hepatitis B virus (p<0.001). Conclusion: Each organization needs to implement rules to avoid needle stick injuries. Tertiary care health staff must aware of it and responsible for health and safety of the healthcare workers. The healthcare workers must conscious about their health. Frequent trainings and education sessions, workshops or symposiums should hold to educate healthcare professionals. To evaluate competencies and effectiveness of training programs; pre and post-test must conduct to monitor the effectiveness, whereas vaccination programs must conduct for healthcare employees to protect and prevent them from health care workplace hazards. Key Words: Health Care Professionals (HCPs), Needle Stick Injuries (NSI)

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