Hamid Hussain, Muhammad Ayub Roz, Hamayun Khan, Naeem Ullah, Ayesha, Shabana Liaqat.
Prevalence and awareness of needle stick injuries among registered nurses in tertiary care hospitals in Northern Pakistan.
J Saidu Med Col Jan ;7(1):22-5.

BACKGROUND: There is an augmented threat of infection with blood borne pathogens to health-care workers because of professional disclosure to blood and other body fluids. Among health care personnel, Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are primary reason of spread of blood borne infections. In Pakistan the reported incidence of needle stick injuries is 16.3% in nurses. OBJECTIVES: It is required to reassess the prevalence of needle stick injuries in nurses of the teaching hospitals and its risk factors so that preventive steps can be taken. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross sectional survey was conducted in the three teaching hospitals of Peshawar. Three hundred and Seventy (370) staff nurses were chosen by simple random sampling. A Pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data which was analyzed using SPSS version 22. RESULTS: During job 30% of nurses got needle stick injury. The most common injury source are needles (72%) and needle stick injuries typically occurred (81%) at ward and bedside. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals inadequate knowledge amongst nurses and shows that there are 30% of Needle-stick injuries. Therefore on job trainings, seminars and workshops should be arranged to reduce the burden of NSI in the nurses. Key Words: Disposal practices, health care workers, needle stick injury, recapping practices.

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