Needle-Stick Injuries among Healthcare Workers in King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) - An Empirical Investigation Of Causes And ManagementPractice

Abstract

Despite the technological advances and high awareness within the health sectors, health workers are still subject to needle stick injuries while performing their care duties. The serious issues relevant to unreported occupational exposure, where around 40-70% of the injuries are not reported. NSI has the potential to transmit transient or persistent pathogen from the blood source bodies to health workers bodies. Bloodborne pathogen such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) induce a serious threat on lives and account for the increasing / declining / current morbidity and mortality. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that unreported sharps-related injuries in United States exceeded the half of all injuries. In the context of Saudi Arabia, there are few numbers of studies addressing the prevalence of the NSIs injuries. The past studies are not adequate to cover all aspect of the NSIs among health workers, therefore, the current study mainly aims to address the frequency rate of needle stick injuries among health worker in the Abdul- Aziz University Hospital. The research also assesses the distribution of the NSI by gender, age, training, location and employing health department. Furthermore, research intends to discover that health worker practices contribute to NSI and the related safety practice after the injuries occurs.