Title: Assessment of Knowledge and Existing Practices of Staff Nurses Regarding Needle Stick Injuries – A Descriptive and Correlation Study
Authors: Mrs. Sanghamitra Dasgupta, Dr Anjan Dasgupta
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v7i3.190
Abstract
Needle stick injuries (NSI) are the wounds caused by needles that accidentally puncture the skin and transmit approximately twenty pathogens especially blood-borne viruses. It enters within the body through a small innocent pore may injure the body with deadly blood borne pathogens like HBV (Hepatitis B Virus), HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) and HIV (Human immunodeficiency Virus). Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2004) estimates that each year approximately 3, 85,000 needle stick injuries and other sharp injuries are sustained by hospital based health care personnel1. In USA the number of needle stick injuries is estimated to be one million per year2. Unreported needle stick and sharp injuries are serious problem. About 40 -70 % of all needle stick injuries are unreported3 due to lack of knowledge. Only 10 % knew how to report in spite of a comprehensive training and education programme (Trim et al, 2003)4. The health care workers, particularly the staff nurses frequently get needle stick injuries in different ways during giving care to the patient, but neglect the injuries most of the time. Therefore, nurses should have knowledge regarding the importance of prevention and management of needle stick injuries. In order to stay healthy they should protect themselves not only from the known infected cases but also from all patients whose viral status is not known.
Objective: To estimate the knowledge of staff nurses regarding prevention and management of needle stick injuries.
To identify the existing practices of staff nurses regarding needle stick injuries.
To relate the knowledge and practices of staff nurses regarding needle stick injuries.
Study Design: A Descriptive survey included 100 staff nurses to identify knowledge and existing practices regarding prevention and management of needle stick injuries. The conceptual framework of study was based on Health Belief Model and the research approach adopted was Descriptive Correlation survey approach. Convenient sampling technique was used to select 100 professionally qualified (GNM Gr. II) staff nurses of a District Hospital in West Bengal. A structured knowledge questionnaire and an observation check list were used to collect data after establishing reliability and validity.
Result: The study findings revealed that there is significant relationship between knowledge and practices of staff nurses(r= 0.7, t= 11.12, p< 0.05).Chi –square test also showed significant association between knowledge and practice scores and incidence of NSI (p <05).
Conclusion: Knowledge among staff nurses regarding risks and hazards associated with NSI and its management is inadequate. Existing practices among them are also not adequate for safe practicing and implementation of universal precaution in wards. Regular training of the nursing staff regarding prevention and management of NSI can ensure awareness and safety. Besides the availability of sufficient syringe-needles, needle-cutter and other protective devices, good infection control technique is very essential to avoid injury and there by occurrence of dreadful blood borne diseases.
Keywords: Needle sticks injury (NSI).
References
- World Health Organization. Injection Safety. Geneva. WHO; 2002: WHO fact sheet no.231.
- World Health Organizatoin. Global burden of diseases from sharp injuries to health care workers : Environmental Burden of Disease Series No 3.Geneva; 2003.
- CDC . Public Health Service guidelines for management of health care worker exposures to HIV and recommendations for post exposure prophylaxis. MMWR1998.
- International Heath Care Worker Safety Center. Link: http//www.healthsystem.verginia.edu/internet epinet/
- Leliopoulou C, Waterman H, Chakraborty S. Nurses failure to appreciate the risk of infection due to needle stick accident; A hospital based survey. J of Hospital Infection.1999;42(1):53-6.
- Joardar GK, Chatterjee C, Sadhukhan SK, Chakravorty M, Dass P, Mandal A. Needle sticks injury among nurses involved in a patient care: a study in two medical college hospitals of West Bengal. Indian J Public Health.2008;52(3):150-2.
- Simon Lucy Patrick . A study on the knowledge and existing practices of staff nurses regarding needle stick injuries (NSIs) and evaluation the effectiveness of guidelines developed for the prevention and management of NSIs in a selected government Hospital. of Delhi. University of Delhi.2008.
- Bali R, Sharma P, Angi S, Shruti. Needle Stick Injuries in Health Care Providers. The Nursing Journal of India.2008; XCIX (11) : 25-3.
- Mustafa N. İlhan, Elif Durukan Ev̇n Aras, Sertaç Türkçüoğlu and Remż Aygün .Long working hours increase the risk of sharp and Needlestick injury in nurses: the need for new policy implication. DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI). July 2006.
- Yao WX, Yang B, Yao C, Bai PS, Qian YR, Huang CH, et al. Needle stick injuries among nurses in China. Nurse_Edu Today.2009.
- Ebrahimi H. , Khosravi A. Needlestick injuries among nurses. J Res Health Science. Iran. Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 56-62, 2007;7(2): 56-6.
- Nagao Y, Baba H, Nagao M, Iinuma Y, Otha M, Torii K, et.,al. A long term study of sharps injuries among health care workers in Japan. Am J Infect Control.2007;35 (6) :407-11.
- Siddique Khurram, Mirza Shirin, Fiza S, Anawar Idress , Malik Asif Z. Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding needle stick injuries among healthcare providers. Rawalpindi. 2008.; 24(4):243-5.
- Zafar Afia, Aslam Naveen, Nasir Nosheen, Meraj Riffat, Mehraj Vikram . Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices of HCWs regarding needle stick injuries in Hospital of Pakistan.2007.