Occupational injury history and universal precautions awareness: a survey in Kabul hospital staff.
BACKGROUND
Health staff in Afghanistan may be at high risk of needle stick injury and occupational infection with blood borne pathogens, but we have not found any published or unpublished data.


METHODS
Our aim was to measure the percentage of healthcare staff reporting sharps injuries in the preceding 12 months, and to explore what they knew about universal precautions. In five randomly selected government hospitals in Kabul a total of 950 staff participated in the study. Data were analyzed with Epi Info 3.


RESULTS
Seventy three percent of staff (72.6%, 491/676) reported sharps injury in the preceding 12 months, with remarkably similar levels between hospitals and staff cadres in the 676 (71.1%) people responding. Most at risk were gynaecologist/obstetricians (96.1%) followed by surgeons (91.1%), nurses (80.2%), dentists (75.4%), midwives (62.0%), technicians (50.0%), and internist/paediatricians (47.5%). Of the injuries reported, the commonest were from hollow-bore needles (46.3%, n = 361/780), usually during recapping. Almost a quarter (27.9%) of respondents had not been vaccinated against hepatitis B. Basic knowledge about universal precautions were found insufficient across all hospitals and cadres.


CONCLUSIONS
Occupational health policies for universal precautions need to be implemented in Afghani hospitals. Staff vaccination against hepatitis B is recommended.
Salehi
Ahmad Shah
AS
Ministry of Public Health, Kabul, Afghanistan. salehiahmadshah@yahoo.com
Garner
Paul
P
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000346:Afghanistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016635:Universal Precautions / Q000379:methods*