Post 01364e: Needlestick Prevention Devices

POST 01364E: NEEDLESTICK PREVENTION DEVICES19 DECEMBER 2008 ****************************************** According to the World Health Report 2002, ‘there are 35 million health-care workers, of which 2 million experience percutaneous exposure to infectious diseases each year. The report also states that 40% of Hepatitis B, 40% of Hepatitis C and 2.5% of HIV/AIDS in Health-Care Workers around the world are due to needlestick injuries.’ A WHO injection safety assessment in 20 countries revealed that, on an average, health-care workers experienced 1-9 needlestick injuries every year. A similar assessment in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office showed an average of 4 needlestick injuries per year per health-care worker. (Carsten Mantel, 2002) In developing countries, and especially in Africa, the health-care workforce is at high risk. In this context, the letter shared with us by Dr Jules Milligo is very heartening. Political and administrative support is crucial to greater injection safety A few reports and references relating to the same subject have also been cross-posted from SIGN. Many thanks to Allan. -------- Dear Terry, Attached please find a letter to "All development partners and friends of Nigeria" by the Director General of the Nigerian Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Dora Akunyili. As you may recall, last year, Nigeria, under Prof Akunyili’s leadership, took the courageous decision to move toward adopting syringes with needlestick prevention features. In a country that is better known for its reputation of corruption, it is heart-warming to see someone that rises above the fray to do the right thing. Since taking office, despite death threats, she remained undeterred and fiercely committed to protecting Nigerian populations from fake drugs, fake medical devices and other products. She has always been a strong supporter of injection safety and more particularly of health workers' safety. It is a pleasant surprise to see that she is following suit with this letter to partners to support the implementation of this decision to protect health care workers from needle stick injuries and the risk of transmission of blood borne pathogens in health care settings. I hope you will be able to publish this in the next Technet. Thank you Jules Dr. Jules Millogo ([[email protected]][email protected][/email]) Medical Director
Retractable Technologies Inc.
 Washington DC ------- Safe needles save lives: Improving the knowledge and practice of injection safety amongst student nurses of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (K.N. Stewart: University of Benin, Community Health, Benin, Nigeria) Background: The World Health Organization estimates that at least 50% of the developing world’s injections are unsafe and pose serious health risks to the recipient, health workers and the public. Nigeria has been identified as a country with poor injection practices among health care workers and patients. This study aimed at improving the knowledge and practice of injection safety amongst student nurses of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria. Methodology: This quasi-experimental study was conducted between the 24th of January and the 8th of June, 2007 amongst 106 student nurses of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital using 115 students of the State School of Nursing as controls. A total population was used for the study. Every nursing student who had spent one year in the school was recruited for the study. Information was obtained from the respondents using a self-administered questionnaire and an observational checklist. The WHO/AFRO/JSI Inc. Facilitators Guide for Injection Safety was used as the manual for training intervention. Results: There was a marked increase in the overall knowledge of injection safety amongst subjects from a baseline knowledge of 42% to 82% following intervention and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p =0.0000). There was a slight increase in knowledge of injection safety amongst controls from a baseline of 45% to 47% but this increase was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The poor knowledge and practice of injection safety implies a need for its inclusion in the curriculum of Nursing Schools in Nigeria. -------The status of occupational safety among health service providers in hospitals in Tanzania (Manyele SV, Ngonyani HA, Eliakimu E. Tanzan J Health Res 2008; 10(3): 159-65). Unsafe injection practices in Gujarat, India [Pandit NB, Choudhary SK: Singapore Med J. 2008 Nov; 49(11): 936-9]. Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com) ##text##