NEEDLE STICK INJURY PATTERN AMONG HEALTH WORKERS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FACILITIES IN ILORIN, NIGERIA.

Injection is the most common health care procedures in both formal and informal health sector and people in developing countries receive unnecessarily high level of injection annually putting them at risk of Needle Stick Injury (NSI). The cost and consequences of NSI have been documented to be high and yet not accounted for by the health authority. The objective of this study was to determine the pattern of NSI among the health workers in Primary health care facilities in Ilorin, North central Nigeria. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 247 Primary Health Care Workers (PHCWs) in 2 out of 3 Local Government Areas (LGA) of Ilorin metropolis. Questionnaires and Observational checklists were the data collection instruments and data was analyzed using Epi-info software package with a level of significant set at p-value of < 0.05. It was observed that 78.5% of PHCWs claimed they recapped needle while recapping of needle was observed in 85% of the health facility. Thirty one percent of the health workers have had NSI and only 19.5% of them reported the injury to the health authority. It was concluded that there was indication of poor injection safety and moderately high incidence of NSI among PHCWs in Ilorin.