College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, 3110 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45221-0038, United States.
School of Nursing, University of Michigan, 426 N Ingalls St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Int J Qual Health Care. 2024 Jul 19;36(3). doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzae066.
There are little data on sharps injuries among healthcare workers in West Africa despite the region's high rate of hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus. The purpose of this study is to investigate healthcare workers' history of sharps injuries in Liberia and Ghana. An electronic cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare workers in Liberia and Ghana from February to June 2022. A link to the survey was texted to participants through professional association membership lists, including nursing, midwifery, and physician assistant organizations in both Liberia and Ghana and a physician organization in Ghana only. Five hundred and nine participants reported an average of 1.8 injuries per year in Liberia and 1.1 in Ghana (P ≤ .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 = .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.
尽管西非的乙型肝炎和人类免疫缺陷病毒感染率很高，但有关该地区医护人员锐器伤的数据却很少。本研究旨在调查利比里亚和加纳医护人员的锐器伤史。2022 年 2 月至 6 月，对利比里亚和加纳的医护人员进行了电子横断面调查。通过专业协会成员名单，向利比里亚和加纳的护理、助产和医师助理组织以及加纳的一个医师组织向参与者发送了调查链接。509 名参与者报告称，他们在利比里亚平均每年有 1.8 次受伤，在加纳平均每年有 1.1 次受伤（P≤.01）；15.1%的医护人员报告称在过去一年中受过三次或更多次伤害。利比里亚的高频受伤工人比例更高（P=.01）。高频受伤工人在各类型工人中分布均匀。该地区的工作人员容易受到锐器伤的伤害。一个高频受伤的工人亚组可能有独特的风险因素，将受益于进一步的调查和干预。
