2025, Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part A

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to blood-borne infections by pathogens, such as HIV, and hepatitis B and C viruses, as they perform their clinical activities in the hospital. The activities associated with majority of needle stick injuries are administering injections, withdrawing blood, recapping needles, disposing off needles and handling trash. 1

It further notes that 37.6% of hepatitis B, 39% of hepatitis C, and 4.4% of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/AIDS among HCWs around the world are due to NSIs (WHO). 2 Knowledge and preventive practice is a necessity in prevention and control of needle stick injuries so that effective measures could be taken as required and thereby reduces cross contamination of diseases from patients to nurses and also from nurses to patients.

Materials and Methods: In this non-experimental descriptive survey research study conducted among 100 staff nurses at Howrah District Hospital, Howrah, West Bengal from 4/12/23 to 6/1/24 were selected by convenient sampling technique, semi - structured questionnaire for demographic variables and structured questionnaire on assessment of knowledge and structured observational checklist on assessment of practice regarding needle stick injury among staff nurses were used for data collection.

Results: The findings of the study revealed that majority (54%) staff nurses belonged to the age group 21-30 yrs. Majority (86%) staff nurses got in-service training. Only 9% staff nurses had Needle Stick Injury and among them 22.22% staff nurses not taken PEP medication. Majority of them had average knowledge and practice regarding prevention & management of needle stick injury. There was positive correlation exists between the knowledge score & practice score of staff nurses as the ‘r’ value (0.320) with a “t” value 3.344 at df (98), which was significant at 0.05 level of significance. There were statistically significant associations found between knowledge score with age, working experience, professional qualifications and in-service training at 0.05 level of significance. There were also statistically significant associations found between practice score with professional qualification at 0.05 level of significance.

Conclusion: In conclusion, among 100 Staff nurses nine (9) were exposure to needle stick injury last one year. Among them two Staff Nurses were not taken Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) medication due to their ignorance. That is very serious matter. The exposure of Staff Nurses to needle stick injury and its underreported is still a prevalent issue.