Preventing Needle Stick Injuries: A Quality Improvement Project

Needlestick injuries (NSI) affect approximately 1,000 people per day across U.S. hospitals. Needlestick injuries cost an estimated $3,042 per victim annually, according to the report. The costs go toward laboratory fees for testing exposed employees, associated labor and counseling and post-exposure follow-ups. (Beckner\u27s Clinical Leadership & Infection Control, 2020). It was noted at an urban teaching hospital that needlestick injuries are an issue. Researchers believe this number is an underestimate of the actual amount of needle stick injuries. The purpose is to increase the education of staff nurses on the topic of needle stick injuries. We thoroughly reviewed 56 studies to gather information for preventing needlestick injuries. 15 studies were cross sectional, 1 was methodological, 5 were meta-analyses, 6 were experimental, 3 correlational, 7 were descriptive, 1 was a prospective survey, 1 retrospective analysis, 1 systematic literature review, 4 exploratory, 7 phenomenological, 5 quasi-experimental. Common themes identified were nurses are the most likely to have needlesticks out of healthcare workers, education and training was the prevention strategy most likely to prevent needlesticks, safety devices once educated on decreased needlesticks, most common factor that causes this is burnout and stress, most are not reported so the actual number is underreported, and the need to get tested for disease transmission after