Sharps injuries among healthcare workers in Liberia and Ghana: a cross-sectional survey.
Int J Qual Health Care
; 2024 Jul 08.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38978112
ABSTRACT
There is little data on sharps injuries among healthcare workers in West Africa despite the region's high rate of Hepatitis B and HIV. The purpose of this study is to investigate healthcare workers' history of sharps injury in Liberia and Ghana. An electronic cross-sectional survey was administered to healthcare workers in Liberia and Ghana from February to June 2022. A link to the survey was texted to participants through professional association membership lists, including nursing, midwifery, and physician assistant organizations in both Liberia and Ghana and a physician organization in Ghana only. 509 participants reported an average of 1.8 injuries per year in Liberia and 1.1 in Ghana (p=<0.01). 15.1% of healthcare workers reported three or more injuries in the past year. Liberia had a higher proportion of frequently injured workers (p = 0.01). Frequently injured workers were evenly distributed across worker types. Workers in this region are vulnerable to sharps injuries. A frequently injured subset of workers likely has distinctive risk factors and would benefit from further investigation and intervention.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Qual Health Care
Journal subject:
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: