Ridge Laura Jean, Arko-Mensah John, Lambert Josh, Aziato Lydia, Zeantoe G Clinton, Duah Henry, McCullagh Marjorie
medRxiv. 2023 Sep 20:2023.09.19.23295623. doi: 10.1101/2023.09.19.23295623.
There is little data on sharps injuries among healthcare workers in West Africa, despite the region's high rate of Hepatitis B and HIV. The purpose of this study is to investigate healthcare workers' history of sharps injury in Liberia and Ghana.
An electronic cross-sectional survey disseminated by local nursing, midwifery, physician assistant, and physician associations.
Healthcare workers in Liberia and Ghana from February to June 2022.
Participant were registered nurses, physician assistants, physicians, or midwives, and had been working in a patient care role for at least nine of the previous twelve months.
A link to the survey was texted to participants through their professional association membership lists, including nursing, midwifery, and physician assistant organizations in both Liberia and Ghana and a physician organization in Ghana only.
509 participants reported an average of 1.8 injuries per year in Liberia and 1.1 in Ghana (p=<0.01). 15.1% of healthcare workers reported three or more injuries in the past year. Liberia had a higher proportion of frequently injured workers (p=<0.01). Frequently injured workers were evenly distributed across worker types.
Workers in this region are vulnerable to sharps injuries. A frequently injured subset of workers likely has distinctive risk factors and would benefit from further investigation and intervention.
尽管西非地区乙肝和艾滋病毒感染率很高，但关于该地区医护人员锐器伤的数据却很少。本研究的目的是调查利比里亚和加纳医护人员的锐器伤史。
由当地护士、助产士、医师助理和医师协会开展的电子横断面调查。
2022年2月至6月期间利比里亚和加纳的医护人员。
参与者为注册护士、医师助理、医师或助产士，且在过去十二个月中的至少九个月里一直从事患者护理工作。
通过参与者的专业协会成员名单向他们发送调查问卷链接，这些名单包括利比里亚和加纳的护士、助产士和医师助理组织，以及仅加纳的一个医师组织。
509名参与者报告称，利比里亚的医护人员平均每年受伤1.8次，加纳为1.1次（p<0.01）。15.1%的医护人员报告在过去一年中受过三次或更多次伤。利比里亚经常受伤的工作人员比例更高（p<0.01）。经常受伤的工作人员在不同工种中分布均匀。
该地区的工作人员易受锐器伤。一部分经常受伤的工作人员可能有独特的风险因素，进一步的调查和干预可能会对他们有益。
