Journal of Women's Health Care
Open Access

Prevalence of needlestick injuries and its related factors among female nurses

World Congress on Midwifery and Womens Health

August 29-31, 2016 Atlanta, USA

Annu Kaushik

Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, India

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Womens Health Care

Abstract :

Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) is one of the common occupational hazards for nurses and can occur because of variety of causes. This study was aimed at finding out the prevalence of NSI and to explore the factors related to NSI incidences. This quantitative descriptive study was conducted among 150 nurses working two tertiary care hospitals in Haryana. Convenient sampling technique was used to select nurses for the study. A self-developed socio-demographic profile and a questionnaire to assess needle stick injuries and related factors was administered to each of the study participants. Majority (89.7) of nurses were females. 52% of nurses got needlestick injuries while they were pregnant. Overall, every third nurse (33.3%) had sustained needle stick injury at least once in the past. Only 19 (12.7%) nurses have received Hepatitis-B vaccination. Nearly two third of the participants (64.9%) did not think that it was important to have Hepatitis B vaccination. The most common cause of NSI as perceived by nurses was lack of proper equipment for disposal (50%) followed by increased workload (24%), carelessness (18%) and fatigue (8%). Majority (62%) of the NSI was sustained during night shift. Prevalence of NSI reported by the study is alarming and it needs attention to reduce the risk of occupational hazards. It is important to note that majotity of nurses were females and were in the child bearing age. Needlestick injuries causes substantial physical and mental trauma. Female nurses as the largest network of the health care enterprise need to be competent and up to date in their caring role to minimize sharp injuries at work and its sequelae.

Biography :

Annu Kaushik is a PhD Nursing Scholar at Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India. A professional with 18 years of rich experience in Training, Education, Strategic Planning, Operations and Team Management, she has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals. She has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of repute and authored as well as edited nursing books.

Email: aktaksh@gmail.com