KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS NEEDLE STICK INJURY AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL-QUESTIONNAIRE BASED STUDY

Background : An occupational injury is loosely termed as needle stick injury(NSI) , though it included injury through needle or other sharps and splashes4.They constitute major source of blood borne pathogens especially HIV, HBV, HCV. The risk of transmission after NSI is highest for HBV (2-40%), followed by HCV (2.7-10%), least for HIV (0.3%) 5. Purpose 1. To assess the occurrence of NSI among different categories of HCWs 2. To study various factors responsible and the circumstances under which they occur 3. To prevent these through improvement in knowledge, attitude and practice. Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among health care workers (HCWs) in a Private Hospital (Shanthi hospital and research centre) in Bengaluru from Jan to March 2023. This study included all HCW (50), who come in contact with patients, thus exposed to sharps and other occupational hazards. Data collection was carried out using standardized questionnaire, created based on review of the literature Results: out of 50, 21 were males and 29 were female. Maximum were in the age group of 20-40 yrs. 50 % of the HCWs are nursing staff, followed by 20% doctors, 18% housekeeping, 12% technicians. Needle stick injury was seen in 10% of HCWs. Out of 5 HCWs, only one has sustained 2 NSIs, remaining 4 HCWs had NSI only once. It was common in nursing staff as they will be dealing with sharps frequently. Interpretation & Conclusion: NSI rate is relatively low in this study compared to many other studies, even HBV Vaccination rate is good in this study. To improve the knowledge, attitude and practice towards NSI repeated training with pre and post test questionnaire is very important. More knowledge is required regarding needleless safety devices.