Knowledge, Attitude and Practices amongst Paramedical Staff on Needle Stick Injuries in a Tertiary Level Health Care Facility in Southern Rajasthan

Abstract

Introduction: A needle stick injury (NSI) is defined as an accidental skin-penetrating stab wound from a hollow-bore needle (or any sharp) containing another person's blood or body fluid. Health care workers (HCWs) who are exposed to needle in their clinical activities are at increased risk of acquiring needle stick injury which may lead to serious or fatal infection with blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus or HIV. Objective: to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices on Needle Stick Injury among paramedical personnel. Material and method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on paramedical personnel working at Maharana Bhopal Government Hospital, Udaipur. Results: Most of the respondents (94.32%) were aware of hazardous consequences of needle stick injury. Majority of the respondents (94.89%) felt that needle stick injury is a matter of concern, but only 55.88% LTs as compared to 84.50% nurses felt that it was important to report it. Almost three fourth (74.43%) respondents had sustained needle stick injury in last one year. Conclusion: Needle stick injury is a serious matter of concern. There was a wide gap in the participant’s knowledge and attitude towards NSI and what they actually did after sustaining the injury.

Keywords

• Needle stick injury
• paramedical staff
• HIV
• Hepatitis