The needlestick and sharps injury encountering situations of nurses and the methods they followed after encounter

Needlestick and sharps injuries are number one in rank in the occupational risks of the nurses exposured. The occupational needlestick and sharps injuries which cause the spread of blood-borne infections with worse prognosis and without effective treatment and preventive inoculation are largely preventable injuries. Therefore, this study is made in order to find the reasons of the needlestick and sharps injuries and the activities made after injury among 406 nurses who met the research criteria, volunteered to participate in the study and employed in the Gaziantep 25 December State Hospital and Şahinbey Research and Application Hospital of Gaziantep University. The research sample size is determined by making the power analysis. A questionnaire form prepared by the researcher which includes questions about sociodemographic data and the variables of needlestick and sharps injuries is used to collect data. As a result of study, it is found that 60.8% of nurses injured with needlesticks and sharps at least once during their professional life (p<0.05). It is found that the most common process which cause the injury is recapping the needle and the device is syringe needle (p<0.05). It is found that the protective measures such as usage of gloves and reporting the injury after the exposure have low rates, washing with antiseptic/soap activity after the injury is statistically meaningful and this situation is consistent with the literature (p<0.05). As a result, the nurses are frequently encountered with needlestick and sharps injury. In this context, it can be suggested to make nurses conscious of using the safe medical devices and the standard protective measures, importance of needlestick and sharps injury, prevention initiatives, the activities after injury and develop an effective employee safety policies.