CAUSES OF NEEDLE STICK AND SHARP INJURIES AMONG NURSES AT FAISALABAD INSTITUTE OF CARDIOLOGY, FSD

Abstract

Background: Objective: To measure the causes of needle stick and sharp injuries among nurses in Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Faisalabad. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology. Period: Jan 2018 to Mar 2018. Material and Method: This research was quantitative; a self-administered questionnaire was the tool to analyze the causes of needle stick and sharp injuries among nurses of Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Faisalabad. The sample of current study was comprised of 150 nurses. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Cross Tabulation and Frequency Distributions were used for the description of trends in the data. Results: It was found that 84% (N=126) nurses working at Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology workers experienced needle stick injuries in their professional life. Emergency department workers were most frequently affected followed by those working in different wards and ICU. In this study only 73.3% (N=110) nurses were aware about safe medical practices regarding needle stick injuries i.e. Universal precaution guidelines. This research found majority of the nurses having Diploma (35.67%) were having the knowledge about the NSSIs and 46% were trained as well. It was also found that nurses working in emergencies were major victims of NSSIs as 34 percent (N=51) were affected with the NSSIs. Conclusion: Awareness should be developed among nurses about risk factors of needle stick and sharp injuries to prevent them from these injuries and further studies are recommended in this sense.