Background & Objectives: Needle Stick Injury (NSI) represents a major occupational hazard for healthcare workers, as they can lead to accidental skin punctures from needles and potential exposure to contaminated blood and body fluids. This study aims to uncover knowledge gaps and pinpoint specific practices that need attention and reinforcement among healthcare workers. Methods: The study is a cross sectional survey, using a structured questionnaire aimed towards assessing the knowledge and practices involved in prevention and postexposure management regarding needle stick injuries. Healthcare workers including Post-graduate Residents, MBBS interns, Nurses, and Technical staff were included in the study. Results: The incidence of NSIs was 12.40% among healthcare workers (HCWs) and 81.25% were notified immediately after the incident. Recapping was found to be the most common reason (33.33%). Of all the HCWs, 66.12% were fully vaccinated against Hepatitis B with documented protective anti-HBs antibody titers in 69.70%. The knowledge about practice of avoiding the recapping of needles was reported in 26.17% only however, 70.25% knew about recommended first aid components after an accidental NSI. Only 25.34 % of HCWs never recap used needles, and 79.34% use single-hand scoop technique, if recapping is unavoidable. Interpretation & Conclusions: An overall satisfactory level of knowledge was observed among healthcare workers regarding NSIs. However, the practice of avoiding the needle recapping needs to be strengthened besides improving the Hepatitis B vaccine coverage. Targeted interventions are essential to improve knowledge and practices, reducing the risk of bloodborne infections.
Mittal et al. (Tue,) studied this question.