ISSN : 2663-2187

A cross-sectional study on prevalence, knowledge, and risk factors associated with needle stick injuries among medical interns working in tertiary care hospitals.

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Dr. Madhumati. Patil, Dr. Tejashwini. Patil.
» doi: 10.48047/AFJBS.6.14.2024.11531-11541

Abstract

Background: One of the most frequent occupational dangers to which a health care worker (HCW) at a hospital is exposed is needle stick injuries (NSIs). Interns are among the most susceptible members of the healthcare workers, who are likely to sustain unintentional needlestick injuries. The primary cause is believed to be inexperience, which increases the chance of exposure and 40-75 percent of these injuries go unreported. It's critical to evaluate the risk, instruct the interns, and provide a secure work environment. Objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of needle stick injury among interns in tertiary care hospital and to assess the knowledge, awareness and risk factors contributing to needle stick injury. Methods and Material: For the study, 79 interns volunteered to take part. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the information about knowledge, behaviours, and preventative measures among interns in their workplace. Results: Prevalence of needle stick injury among interns was10.8%. All interns were of the risk associated with needle stick injury. Among 79 interns, 71 (89.87%) were aware of general safety procedures, and 88.61% were recapping needles before discarding them. The Chisquare test indicates a strong correlation between wearing gloves and needle stick injuries. The risk of needle-related harm is 6.78 times higher for those not wearing gloves than for those wearing them. Conclusions: The lack of knowledge among the interns suggests that training programmes are necessary to reduce the prevalence of NSI among healthcare professionals, particularly among young physicians like interns who are just starting their careers in clinical practice.

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