| dc.description.abstract | Background
Needle Stick injuries (NSI) are one of the major risk factors for blood borne pathogen infections (BBPIs) at Health Care Facilities (HCFs). The study examined the prevalence and actions taken by Health Care Workers (HCWs) in Tororo General Hospital after sustaining a Needle Stick Injury (NSI). The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence of Needle Stick Injuries and actions taken after a Needle Stick Injury by Health Care Workers in Tororo hospital so as to come up with appropriate strategies for reducing Needle Stick Injuries thereby improving the general working conditions of HCWs.
Methodology
The study was a cross-sectional study design which employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection technique in its analysis. Information was collected from 123 health care workers (HCWs) in Tororo Hospital using self-administered questionnaire. Analysis of quantitative data obtained involved the production and interpretation of pie-charts, frequency tables and a histogram that describes the data generated from the questionnaires.
Major Findings
A total of 97 needle stick injuries occurred between January 2014 and June 2015. 39.84% of the Health Care Workers (HCWs) had sustained at least a Needle Stick Injury (NSI) between the year 2014 and June 2015. Nurses accounted for 46.94%, constituting the largest group of Health Care Workers (HCWs) while surgeons and physicians never experienced any Needle Stick Injury (NSI).
Wards had the highest number 22/49 (44.90%) of a Needle Stick Injury (NSI) while Laboratory had the least percentage (4.08%) of a Needle Stick Injury (NSI). 44.9% of the Health Care Workers immediately tested the patients’ blood for HIV after injury, 6.1% immediately tested patient’s blood for Hepatitis B virus, 18.4% immediately tested their own HIV blood status, 10.2% tested their own HIV status after sometime, while 20.41% did nothing after sustaining a Needle Stick Injury (NSI).
Conclusions and Recommendations
The prevalence of Needle Strict Injury was 39.84%, this prevalence was high. There was also a big total number (97) of needle stick injuries that occurred between January 2014 and June 2015.
This high prevalence implied that there was a high potential of Health Care Workers (HCWs) contracting blood borne infections (BBI) for example Hepatitis B and C virus, HIV, Shigellosis, Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, brucellosis, typhoid, Rubella Virus and Ebola among others as a consequence of Needle Stick Injury (NSI) because it is a common risk factor for infection among Health Care Workers (HCWs) since a large proportion (69.34%) of the injury occurred during needle use.
The management of Tororo General Hospital should formulate strategies to improve the working conditions of Health Care Workers (HCWs), discourage the excessive use of needles and increase adherence to universal precautions.
The management of Tororo General Hospital should avail the guidelines on how to handle needle stick injuries to their workers and they should sensitize its workers about the possible dangers of Needle Stick Injuries and encourage them to protect themselves in way of avoiding such injuries because they expose them to risk of infections.
The management of Tororo General Hospital should put in place post exposure prophylaxis facilities for the Health Care Workers who get exposed to blood and body fluids of HIV infected patients.
There is also need to implement the primary prevention strategies; this can be enforced through eliminating or minimizing the excessive use of needles by eliminating unnecessary injections given to patients. Health Care Workers should adopt other means of administering treatment like use of inhalers, tablets as compared to injection. | en_US |
