Abstract:

Background: Despite the advances in technology and increased awareness of medical staff, annually about 600 thousand to one million health care workers are affected by percutaneous injuries and mucocutaneous blood and body fluids exposure. This study aimed to determine the magnitude and human factors associated with percutaneous injuries and mucocutaneous blood and other body fluids exposure, among health care workers, in Kahama town council health facilities.

A descriptive cross sectional study design was used in which 277 healthcare workers working in private and public health facilities of Kahama town council were randomly selected out of 731 to participate in the study. Structured questionnaire was used during data collection and Data was analyzed by using SPSS software version 21. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such Chi-square was used to compare association of independent variables to the dependent variable.

Results: 277 HCWs participated in the study had mean age of 37.4 years. A prevalence of 34.7% and 24.5% for PI and ME (59.2%) overall reported incidence of percutaneous injuries and mucocutaneous blood and other body fluids within the previous one year. Human factors that were found significantly associated with increased risk of percutaneous injuries and mucocutaneous exposures include working hours per week, recapping needles, job satisfaction, area/department working awareness on the availability of PPE and IPC guidelines and reporting protocols, and years of experience.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated a high prevalence of percutaneous injuries and mucocutaneous exposures among HCWs in private and public health facilities of Kahama town council. This study indicated that human factors than need to addressed to prevent occurrence of percutaneous injuries and mucocutaneous blood and other body fluids among HCWs include working hours per week, recapping needles, job satisfaction, working area/department, awareness on the availability of PPE and IPC guidelines and reporting protocols, and years of experiences.