SHARP INJURIES AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG NURSES WORKING IN DIRE DAWA CITY ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITIES, EASTERN ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

Background: Sharp injuries are the most common and preventable occupational hazards that health care workers are exposed for the transmission of a variety of blood borne infections such as HBV, HCV, and HIV/AIDS. However, there is limited information in the study area that describes about the prevalence of sharp injuries and associated factors among nurses. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of sharp injuries and associated factors among nurses working in Dire Dawa city administration public health facilities, Eastern Ethiopia. Method and Materials: An institutional based cross sectional study design was conducted among nurses working in Public Health Facilities. All nurses (413) working in all public health facilities were included in the study. Data were collected using pretested structured English version self-administered questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to identify predictors of sharp injuries. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to see the association between the outcome variable and each independent variable. Results: This study revealed that the one year and lifelong prevalence of sharp injury was 33.16% (95%CI: 29.93%, 36.01%) and 52.3% (95%CI: 47.2%, 56.8%) respectively. This study showed that year of service/work experience (AOR=2.36, 95%CI: 1.22, 4.59), job related stress (AOR=2.23, 95%CI: 1.28, 3.87), training on infection prevention (AOR=0.52, 95%CI: 0.30, 0.89) and presence of contaminated sharp materials at work place (AOR=2.77, 95%CI: 1.61, 4.75) were statistically significant with the occurrence of SIs among nurses. Conclusions and Recommendations: This study indicated that there is high prevalence of sharp injuries among nurses. Generally, this study showed that year of service, job related stress, training on infection prevention and presence of contaminated sharp materials at work place were independent predictors of SIs among nurses. Therefore, strengthening regular provision of information and training on IP and safety to nurses at all levels should be given more attention and nurses also should practice proper use of safety box and use personal protective equipments (PPEs) during handing and working with sharp materials.