The Knowledge and Practice of Medical Staff about Needle Injuries In Rafsanjan\'s Ali-ebne-Abitaleb Hospital, Iran

Background: Needle injuries are one of the most important hazards threatening the health of medical personnel, which can transmit more than 20 infectious pathogens. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the knowledge and practice of the medical staff at Ali-ebne-Abitaleb Hospital of Rafsanjan, Iran, in regard to the hazards of needle injuries.

Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted by enrolling 186 medical staff members in an educational hospital of Rafsanjan. The research tool was a researcher designed questionnaire which included question about the diseases transmitted through blood, their practice after needle injury and history of vaccination against Hepatitis B. The maximum score of knowledge and attitude in this questionnaire was 10 and 7 respectively.

Results: The average knowledge and practice score of the participants was 6.2 (± 2.4) and 4.5 (± 1.3) respectively, 93% had received complete vaccinations against Hepatitis B, 54.1% of the participants had a history of needle injury and the most prevalent situation in which needle injury happened was venopuncture (36%) and injection (36%). The most frequent reason for needle injury was the heavy work load (33%) and time constrains (30.6%). In people injured by needles, the most frequent practice after injury was blood-letting from the injured site (97.8 %) and washing the site (95.7%).

Conclusion: The high prevalence of needle injury on one hand and the relatively low knowledge on the other hand is a serious alarm for medical personnel. Therefore practical education and encouraging the report of all injured cases is recommended.