HEALTH WORKERS’ KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES ON PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF NEEDLE STICK ACCIDENTS AT KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT

In Mulago national referral hospital Kampala, Uganda, 57% of the nurses and midwives had at least experienced one needle stick injury in the past year. The most important risk factors for Needle Stick Accidents (NSA) was lack of training on such injuries, working for more than 40 hours per week, recapping needles for most of the time and not using gloves. To assess health workers’ knowledge, attitude and practices about prevention and management of Needle Stick Accidents in Kampala International University-Teaching Hospital, a cross section study design quantitative in nature was used to recruit 60 respondents for the study out whom 60 questionnaires were returned completely filled thus a response rate of 100%. 55% of the respondents stated that hand gloving would prevent needle stick injuries, 63% of the respondents strongly agreed that protocols for prevention of needle stick accidents should only be followed where there is no post exposure prophylaxis and 75% of the respondents strongly agreed that recapping needles after use is a potentially dangerous practice leading to needle stick accidents. The researcher concluded that the respondents were knowledgeable about prevention and management of NSA as they could correctly define needle stick accidents and knew the diseases acquired from NSA. Attitudes about prevention and management of NSA were not good despite good knowledge as most of the respondents stated that anyone who got NSA should resign from their jobs and that safety precautions should only be practiced when there is no possibility of post exposure prophylaxis and practices about post exposure prophylaxis were good as most of the respondents strongly agreed that personal protective gears were important for

prevention of needle stick accidents and were not in favour with the practice of

recapping used needles.