“Be sharp, Avoid sharps” – A campaign on needle stick injury to sensitize nurses on handling sharps and needles in patient care areas

Healthcare workers face a major occupational health and safety concern with needle-stick injuries (NSIs)1. Theyare associated with a 0.3–30% risk of transmission of Human Immunodeficiency virus, Hepatitis C virus, and Hepatitis B virus. They not only result in psychological suffering but also entail a huge financial burden2.A campaign on NSI was conducted in order to ensure safe sharp devices and use, enhance staff knowledge on handling sharps in patient care areas and reduce needle stick injuries in the hospital. A total of 1056 nurses were trained and were included in both pre and post-training. Considering the study findings, it was observed that the number of NSI incidents reduced from 53% (pre-campaign) to 47% (post campaign) and average score of staff knowledge on handling sharps also improved from 4.8 (pre-campaign) to 6.7(post campaign).