Sharp Material Injury and Associated Factors Among Healthcare Workers Working in Public Hospitals of Hadiya Zone, Central Ethiopia.

Background: Injuries from sharp materials were a major cause of occupational hazards worldwide.

Objective: To assess the magnitude of sharp material injury and associated factors among health workers in public Hospitals of Hadiya Zone, Central Ethiopia, 2023.

Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from June 10 to July 10, 2023, on 369 healthcare workers. A simple random sampling technique was used. Data were entered using Epi data 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS Version 25. Binary logistic regression analysis was done, and variables with a p-value of < .05 in the bivariate analysis were taken into the multivariable analysis. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value of < .05 with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI).

Results: The magnitude of sharp material injury among health workers was 30.7% with 95% CI (25.9-35.3). Supervision [AOR 0.13, 95% CI: 0.06-0.27], training [AOR 0.29, 95% CI: 0.14-0.59], protocol about sharp material injury report [AOR 0.32, 95% CI: 0.17-0.63], recap needle [AOR 4.89, 95% CI: 2.47-9.72], dispose sharp materials [AOR 0.38, 95% CI: 0.16-0.88], segregate sharp waste [AOR 0.33, 95% CI: 0.15-0.75], and report any sharp material injury immediately [AOR 0.38, 95% CI: 0.18-0.83] were significantly associated with sharp material injury.

Conclusion: Three in 10 healthcare workers face sharp material injury. Supervision, training, protocol, recapping needles, disposing of sharp materials, segregating sharp waste, and reporting any sharp material injury immediately were found to be significant variables. Therefore, conducting regular supervision from hospital authorized bodies, training healthcare workers, developing and implementing protocols about sharp material injury reports, avoiding recapping needles after injection, proper disposition of sharp materials in safety box after the procedure, adequate segregation of sharp waste from other wastes, and coherent reporting of any sharp material injury immediately might reduce the occurrence of sharp material injury among healthcare workers.