NEEDLE-STICK INJURIES AND SPLASH WITH BLOOD AND BODY FLUIDS AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN HOSPITALS OF BALE ZONE, SOUTHEAST ETHIOPIA

Introduction: Healthcare workers have increased the risk of contracting infection following accidental needlestick injuries and splashes with blood and body fluids. In Ethiopia, occupational exposures are often under-reported in many healthcare facilities. Objective: This study aims to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with needle-stick injuries and splashes with blood and body fluids among healthcare workers serving in hospitals of southeast Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 1 to March 10, 2018. A total of 404 healthcare workers were recruited into the study from five hospitals (one primary, three general and one referral hospital) using a simple random sampling technique. The outcome variables of the present study were the healthcare worker's needle stick injury (yes, no) and exposure to a splash of blood and body fluids (yes, no). Descriptive statistics were used to explore the data and a logistic regression model used to analyze the data. The strength of association was quantified using odds ratio and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: A total of 394 healthcare workers participated in the study. Lifetime needle-stick injury was 61.2 % (95% CI: 56.1-66.0%) and the occurrence of needle-stick injury in the previous year was 38.3 % (95%CI: 33.8-43.1%). There was a high prevalence of lifetime [60.2 % (95%CI: 55.6-64.7%)] and previous year [44.9% (95%CI: 39.8-50.0)] exposures to blood and body fluids. Needle recapping (AOR= 2.25; 95% CI: 1.26-4.03) and working in surgical and medical wards (AOR=1.85; 95% CI: 1.06-3.21) were significantly associated with increased odds of needle-stick injury and exposure to body fluid splashes, respectively. Conclusions: The observed high level of occupational exposure to health risks among healthcare workers calls for the urgent need of formulating strategies to promote safe practice and occupational safety protocols along with strict adherence to infection prevention principles.