title: Safe Injection Practices in Primary Health Care Settings of Naxalbari Block, Darjeeling District, West Bengal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Unsafe injection can transmit many diseases to patients, injection providers and healthy people of community.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To find out critical steps whether executed according to recommended best practice methods, availability of equipments in health facilities for safe injection practices and some important steps of waste disposal methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  This facility-based cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 30 Auxiliary nurse midwives (ANM) & 27 nursing staffs (NS) to assess certain aspects of their practice while administrating injection and disposal of the disposables. Health facilities were also observed to asses necessary equipments of safe injection and waste disposal methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the health workers 93.3% ANM and 100% NS took sterile syringe from sterile unopened packet, all of the study subjects washed hand before giving injection, 13.3% of ANMs and 8% of NS are fully vaccinated against Hep B, 53.3% of ANM and all NS are practices non recapping. Only 13.33% sub centres along with PHC & BPHC had at least one puncture resistant leak proof container, 86.7% sub centres, PHC are free from loose needles. Transport for off side treatment is the method of waste disposal in case of 73.3% cases sub centres, PHC & BPHC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is need to educate, train and motivate service providers in proper methods of giving injection along with improve the adequacy of supply of required equipments.
authors.affiliation: Post Graduate Student, Department of Community Medicine, North Bengal Medical College , Darjeeling, West Bengal, India .
authors.forename: Sudip Banik
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Chaudhuri
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine & Sagar Datta Hospital , Kamarhati, N-24 Parganas, West Bengal, India .
authors.forename: Kuntala
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ray
keywords: ANM; Availability of equipments; Critical steps; Nursing staffs