Needle Stick Injuries among Healthcare Waste Handlers in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Delhi
Journal Title: Epidemiology International - Year 2017, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction: World Health Organization (WHO) reports in the World Health Report 2002 that of the 35 million HCWs, 2 million suffer percutaneous exposure to infectious diseases each year. Healthcare waste handlers who are responsible for handling and collection of healthcare wastes are vulnerable to the hazards of occupational exposure to biomedical waste (BMW) as a consequence of improper disposal practices of the waste generators. Objective: The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Needle stick injury (NSI) among the study subjects, and to study the knowledge and practice regarding Needle stick injury (NSI) among the study subjects. Methodology: A Hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare waste handlers in a tertiary care hospital of Delhi. Of 390 healthcare waste handlers, 199 Bio-medical waste handlers were chosen on the basis of convenience according to their work shift. Results: Sixty two (31.1%) workers had knowledge that NSI during BMW handling can cause hepatitis and 127 (63.8%) had knowledge that it can lead to HIV infection among them. The prevalence of NSI came to be 14.6% within the past six months. Conclusion: A gap between knowledge and practice regarding action after NSI was found; therefore, measures to increase awareness are definitely required.
Authors and Affiliations
Dr. Amrita Singh
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP213246
- DOI 10.24321/2455.7048.201706
- Views 91
- Downloads 0
Examining Population Structure of Rajasthan with Implications for Public Health Planningand rate Standardization to support Eye and Vision Care Public Health Programming
Introduction: Scientific thinking and methods are necessary in order to make valid comparisons of the distribution of health outcomes within and across populations. To date, no prior report has been identified as examini...
Prevalence of Hypertension among Medical Students with Positive Familial History of Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus in a Medical College of Delhi
Background: Genetic basis of hypertension and familial aggregation are both well demonstrated and established in the research. We attempted to find out that college going (in a medical college in the present study) stude...
Occupational Health problems in Informal Sector in India need immediate attention
Occupational structure is classified as primary, secondary and tertiary sector and all are having organized and unorganized sector. Informal sector or unorganized sector includes all those workers and tiny economic units...
Gender Perspectives in Ear Care: A CrossSectional Survey in Delhi
Background: Ear disease in children is a major public health problem in developing countries. There has been scarcity of evidence of any gender differentials, if any exists, with ear care in the Indian context. Objective...
Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidities in School Going Adolescents in a Rural Block of Haryana
Background: Mental health problems have increased considerably among adolescents in the past 20-30 years. According to the present estimates by World Health Organization, mental illnesses are the leading causes of disabi...