Prevalence of Needle Stick Injury among Interns of Rural Medical Teaching Hospital

oleh: Aishwarya Megnath, Aliya Nusrath, N Asha Rani

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: ADICHUNCHANAGIRI INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES 2017-07-01

Deskripsi

Background and Objectives: Needle stick injury (NSI) is one of the most common occupational hazards faced by the health-care providers. Studies have shown a high prevalence of NSI and low level of awareness on reporting the injury and post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) among junior doctors. Hence, the present study was undertaken to assess prevalence and practices following NSI among interns of rural teaching hospital. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a rural teaching hospital. A validated self-administered questionnaire tool was used to collect data among interns. The data were analyzed and expressed as frequency and percentages. Results: Among 72 participants, 43.05% were males, and 56.94% were females with mean age of 23.67 ± 1.14 years. The prevalence of NSI in this study was 47.22% with hollow bore needle (64.71%) as the most common instrument causing NSI during injection (55.9%) followed by assistance in theaters (32.4%). Most of the NSI occurred in surgery department (47.06%), were self-inflicted (70.59%). Only 64.71% were wearing gloves at the time of NSI, and washing hands (64.71%) were the most common action taken post exposure. 11.76% interns had taken PEP. Almost half of the interns (41.18%) had not reported the injury due to lack of knowledge and awareness on reporting system (57.14%). Conclusion: In this study, there was a high prevalence of NSI among interns with inadequate post exposure actions. There is an urgent need to introduce health education training programs to all health- care workers especially to young doctors like interns before they enter their professional career of clinical practice.