Prevalence and associated factors of needlestick and sharp object injuries among healthcare workers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Needlestick and sharp object injuries affect healthcare workers. However, there are limitations in the evidence available for informed decision-making by stakeholders, as individual research shows inconsistent results. Therefore, this study aims to assess the pooled prevalence of needlestick and sharp object injuries and their associated factors.

METHODS

MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other databases were searched from 5 September 2023 to 10 October 2023 using the following search terms: "Prevalence" OR "Burden" OR "Magnitude" AND "Associated factors" OR "related factors" OR "Risk factors" OR "determinants" OR "Predictors" AND "Needle stick Injury" OR "Sharp Injury" OR "Health care Workers" OR " Health Care Personnel" OR "Nurses" OR "Professional" AND "Ethiopia".

RESULTS

The pooled prevalence of needle sticks and sharp objects injury was 40.5 (95% CI: 35.0, 45.9). Needle-stick (AOR, 2.3; 95% CI: 1.6, 3.3,  < 0.001], absence of routine precaution [AOR, 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.5,  < 0.01] and lack of training (AOR = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.4, 4.1,  < 0.001) had increased odds of needle-sticks and sharp objects injury.

CONCLUSION

Forty percent of healthcare workers in Ethiopia have experienced needlestick and sharp object injuries. The identified factors included recapping, absence of routine precautions, and lack of training.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO, identifier (CRD42023462311).