Prevalence of sharps-induced injuries among health workers in Ibadan, Nigeria

Biomedical wastes (BMWs) generated during diagnosis, treatment or prevention of diseases in humans and animals contributes to infection spread. In Nigeria, there is dearth of information about BMW handling practices and vulnerability to sharp-induced injuries among healthcare workers (HCWs). The study assessed wastes handling practices and determined the prevalence of sharps-induced injuries among HCWs in Ibadan.
This descriptive cross-sectional study randomly sampled five healthcare facilities (HCFs) and information was obtained from 426 respondents. Observational checklist and in-depth interview (IDI) documented handling practices. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyse data.
Overall mean age was 37.3±9.2 years and the majority (73.9%) of the participants were females. Respondents’ (58.8%) disagreed that it is the responsibility of waste generators to segregate waste. On protective wears practices, 87.4% always use hand gloves; nose mask (26.8%), aprons (23.3%), boots (13.5%), goggles (5.4%,) and 7.7% employed no protective devices. Factors significantly associated with inappropriate handling of sharp wastes include being male health worker (OR=1.98, CI=1.25-3.15, p<0.05), below post-secondary education (OR=1.91, CI=1.14-3.20, p<0.05) and lack of formal training on waste handling (OR=1.95, CI=1.24–3.06, p<0.05). The prevalence of sharps-induced injuries six months preceding the study was 71.8% overall, among wastes handlers (62.7%) and generators (20.1%) p<0.05. Needles caused 73.4% of the injuries and 86.4% of injuries occurred on the fingers. The HCFs had no policy on BMW handling, wastes were not segregated at the point of generation and colour-coded waste bins were not provided. The HCFs lacked incinerators and used private waste disposal companies.
The low level of knowledge and inappropriate handling of BMWs predisposes HCWs to risk of sharps-induced injuries. HCFs need to regularly train their staff on appropriate BMWs handling and provide standard equipment and protective wears to reduce sharps-induced injuries and health-related risks associated with indiscriminate BMWs disposal.