The Role of Workload and Job Specification in Needle Stick Injuries among Health Care Practitioners in Tertiary Hospitals, Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Needle stick injuries have been a major preventable hazard among hospital staff for centuries. With a prevalence ranging from 37-95% among various sets of healthcare workers. It has also resulted in health care workers acquiring some viral infections over time. This can alter the quality of life of affected individuals. Most of these infections occur in developing countries including Nigeria. Various contributory factors have been found in several studies.

The aim of this study was to establish if the job description of health care workers in two tertiary hospitals in Rivers State and the work load played a role in the occurrence of needle stick injuries.

Methods: This study was carried out over a period of one month among two tertiary hospitals in a southern state in Nigeria using a multi stage sampling technique. Purposive, stratified proportionate and simple random techniques were used. 879 personnel were recruited and a structured questionnaire was used.

Results: Lack of concentration as a result of increased workload was highlighted to be a key cause of needlestick injuries among this population. Job specification was found to increase the chance of needle stick injury by ten.

Conclusion: Working long hours among professionals and specific locations in the hospital environment increase the chance of needlestick injuries. The findings in this study were, however, not statistically significant.