Bekele Tolesa, Gebremariam Alem, Kaso Muhammedawel, Ahmed Kemal
Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Madda Walabu University, Bale-Goba, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Adigrat University, Adigrat, Tigray, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2015 Oct 15;10(10):e0140382. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140382. eCollection 2015.
Needle stick and sharps injuries are occupational hazards to healthcare workers. Every day healthcare workers are exposed to deadly blood borne pathogens through contaminated needles and other sharp objects. About twenty blood borne pathogens can be transmitted through accidental needle stick and sharp injury. The study was conducted to determine the lifetime and past one year prevalence of needle stick and sharps injuries and factors associated with the past one year injuries among hospital healthcare workers in Southeast Ethiopia.
An institutional based cross sectional study was conducted in December 2014 among healthcare workers in four hospitals of Bale zone, Southeast of Ethiopia. A total of 362 healthcare workers were selected randomly from each department in the hospitals. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered into Epi-Info version 3.5 and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent effect of each independent variable on the outcome variable. Written informed consent was secured from the participants.
The prevalence of lifetime needle stick and sharp injury was 37.1% with 95% CI of 32.0% to 42.5%. The prevalence of injury within the past one year was 19.1% with 95% CI of 14.9% to 23.3%. Emergency ward was a department with highest needle stick and sharp injury (31.7%). The main cause of injury was syringe needles (69.8%). Participants who practiced needle recapping had higher odds of needle stick and sharp injury within the past 12 months (AOR = 3.23, 95% CI: 1.78, 5.84) compared to their counterparts.
Nearly one out of five respondents had experienced needle stick and/or sharp injury at least once within past one year. There were practices and behaviors that put healthcare workers at risk of needle stick and sharp injury at the study area. Needle recapping was key modifiable risk behavior. Health policy makers and hospital administrators should formulate strategies to improve the working condition for healthcare workers and increase their adherence to universal precautions.
针刺伤和锐器伤是医护人员面临的职业危害。医护人员每天都通过受污染的针头和其他锐器接触致命的血源性病原体。约二十种血源性病原体可通过意外针刺伤和锐器伤传播。本研究旨在确定埃塞俄比亚东南部医院医护人员针刺伤和锐器伤的终生患病率及过去一年患病率，以及与过去一年受伤相关的因素。
2014年12月在埃塞俄比亚东南部巴勒州的四家医院对医护人员进行了一项基于机构的横断面研究。从各医院的每个科室中随机选取362名医护人员。使用自填式问卷收集数据。收集的数据录入Epi-Info 3.5版本，并使用SPSS 20.0版本进行分析。采用多变量逻辑回归分析确定每个自变量对结果变量的独立影响。获得了参与者的书面知情同意。
针刺伤和锐器伤的终生患病率为37.1%，95%置信区间为32.0%至42.5%。过去一年的受伤患病率为19.1%，95%置信区间为14.9%至23.3%。急诊病房是针刺伤和锐器伤发生率最高的科室（31.7%）。受伤的主要原因是注射器针头（69.8%）。与未进行回套针帽操作的参与者相比，进行回套针帽操作的参与者在过去12个月内发生针刺伤和锐器伤的几率更高（调整后比值比=3.23，95%置信区间：1.78，5.84）。
近五分之一的受访者在过去一年中至少经历过一次针刺伤和/或锐器伤。在研究区域存在一些使医护人员面临针刺伤和锐器伤风险的操作和行为。回套针帽是关键的可改变风险行为。卫生政策制定者和医院管理人员应制定策略，以改善医护人员的工作条件，并提高他们对通用预防措施的依从性。
