Occupational Medicine & Health Affairs
Open Access

Abstract

Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) is one of the common occupational hazard for nurses and can occur because of variety of causes. This study was aimed at finding out the prevalence of NSI and to explore the factors related to NSI incidences. This quantitative descriptive study was conducted among 150 nurses working at two tertiary care hospitals in Haryana. Convenient sampling technique was used to select nurses for the study. A self-developed socio-demographic profile and a questionnaire to assess needle stick injuries and related factors was administered to each of the study participants. Majority (89.7) of nurses were females. 52% of nurses got needlestick injuries while they were pregnant. Overall, every third nurse (33.3%) had sustained needle stick injury at least once in the past. Only 19 (12.7%) nurses have received Hepatitis-B vaccination. Nearly two third of the participants (64.9%) did not think that it was important to have Hepatitis B vaccination. The most common cause of NSI as perceived by nurses was lack of proper equipment for disposal (50%) followed by increased workload (24%), carelessness (18%) and fatigue (8%). Majority (62%) of the NSI was sustained during night shift. Prevalence of NSI reported by the study is alarming and it needs attention to reduce the risk of occupational hazards. It is important to note that majority of nurses were females and were in the child bearing age. Needlestick injuries causes substantial physical and mental trauma. Female nurses as the largest network of the health care enterprise need to be competent and up to date in their caring role to minimize sharp injuries at work and its sequelae.

Biography

Email: aktaksh@gmail.com