Strategies for reducing needlestick injuries among healthcare workers : A Literature Review

Abstract: Being the frontline health care workers nurses are always at risk of needlestick injuries which could transmit infectious bloodborne pathogens. Prevention of infections and promotion of health is one of the core functions of nursing profession. Therefore, prevention of needlestick injuries is the key to the promotion of occupational safety as well as safety of patient and health promotion. The main aim of this review is to identify evidence based preventive measures of needlestick injuries (NSIs) among healthcare workers. The research question is, ‘What are the evidence based preventive measures of NSIs among healthcare workers?’ Different databases including Pubmed, Academic Search Elite (ESCBO), Science direct and google-scholar were searched systematically and twelve relevant literatures were selected for the analysis. Content analysis was done using inductive approach. According to the literatures, multifaceted intervention such as extensive education and the introduction of safety-engineered devices was found to be more effective than other approaches in the prevention of NSIs. Arcada University of Applied Science has commissioned this review