title: Needle Stick Injuries and their Related Safety Measures among Nurses in a University Hospital, Shiraz, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors related to needle stick injuries (NSIs) and to assess related safety measures among a sample of Iranian nurses.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, a random sample of 168 registered active nurses was selected from different wards of one of the hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). Data were collected by an anonymous questionnaire and a checklist based observational method among the 168 registered active nurses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of NSIs in the total of work experience and the last year was 76% and 54%, respectively. Hollow-bore needles were the most common devices involved in the injuries (85.5%). The majority of NSIs occurred in the morning shift (57.8%) and the most common activity leading to NSIs was recapping needles (41.4%). The rate of underreporting NSIs was 60.2% and the major reasons for not reporting the NSIs were heavy clinical schedule (46.7%) and perception of low risk of infection (37.7%). A statistically significant relationship was found between the occurrence of NSIs and sex, hours worked/week, and frequency of shifts/month.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study showed a high prevalence of NSIs among nurses. Supportive measures such as improving injection practices, modification of working schedule, planning training programs targeted at using personal protective equipment, and providing an adequate number of safety facilities such as puncture resistant disposal containers and engineered safe devices are essential for the effective prevention of NSI incidents among the studied nurses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jahangiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health, Ashtian Health Care Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran; Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Akbar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rostamabadi
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hoboubi
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tadayon
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soleimani
keywords: needle stick injuries (NSIs); nurses; safety injection index (SII)