Knowledge, attitude and practice towards needle stick injury among health care workers in a tertiary Sudanese hospital

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DOI: 10.21522/TIJCR.2014.03.01.Art010

Authors : Mohamed D. Dafaalla, Asgad suliman, Abdelmoneim E.M. Kheir, Mahil Abdalla, Ahmed Hashim, Najla Mohammed, Mehera Mirghani, Mohammed Nimir, Manal Haroon, Hani ElHag, Elmubarak Shadad, Ihab Abdalrahman

Abstract:

Introduction: Percutaneous injuries, caused by needle sticks and other sharps, are a serious concern for all health care workers (HCWs) and pose a significant risk of occupational transmission of blood borne pathogen. Two million injuries are believed to occur each year among HCWs. Methodology: The study group consisted of 249 HCWs of various categories of a tertiary care hospital in Khartoum, Sudan. Data collection was carried out using a standardized questionnaire. To measure knowledge, attitude and practices on needle stick injuries. Results:70% of respondents were females and around 47% of participants were nurses Half of participants attended a biosafety course, and around 90% of them followed what they was trained on in all or most of times. Most of respondents graded their knowledge about as good and the main source of knowledge was the university curriculum. In our study 46% had NSI with a mean of 6.1 injuries/year of 6.14 most of them were among nurses 40%. Almost thirty percent didn’t hear about the term post exposure prophylaxis more than 90% knew that HIV, HBV, and HIV can be transmitted through NSI. More than 83% of respondents were worried about NSI. Regarding the most recent NSI, Most of injuries occurred in the ward followed by emergency room, lab, and theatre. In half of cases the culprit was the victim himself during usage of syringe. The most common procedure associated with NSI was blood sampling. The frequent action was to wash the injury site using antiseptic solution. Almost two thirds of respondents who had NSI didn’t report it. Around 4.3% had NSI of HIV patient yet, the majority of them did not receive any medication. Out the 7 participants who had a NSI from a HBV positive patient, 5 were fully vaccinated all of which didn't check their vaccination status. Moreover, none of the 5 participants received PEP. Conclusion and recommendation: prevalence of NSI was relatively low but there were many deficient area such as checking immune status of HBV, knowledge about importance and methods of PEP, role of wearing gloves during handling needles, and procedure of reporting injuries.

HCW =health care worker NSI = needle stick injuries PEP= post exposure prophylaxis

Keywords: KAP, needle stick injury, Soba University hospital, Sudan

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