Assessment of Knowledge and Practice towards Needle Stick Injury among Staff Nurses at Children's Hospital, Lahore: A Descriptive, Cross-Sectional Study
TL;DR
Staff nurses demonstrated reasonably strong foundational awareness of NSI risk but showed a modest gap between knowledge and practice, with specific deficiencies in post-exposure management.
Abstract
Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are a common occupational hazard among healthcare workers, especially nurses, exposing them to blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. Inadequate knowledge and suboptimal practices regarding NSI prevention, reporting, and management place nurses at continued risk of occupational exposure. Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice of staff nurses regarding needle stick injuries at Children's Hospital, Lahore. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 264 staff nurses at Children's Hospital, Lahore, using a simple random sampling technique from November 2025 to April 2026. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, knowledge, and practice-related attitudes regarding NSIs, and analyzed using SPSS version 26 with descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations). Results: All 264 participants were female, most aged 31-35 years (41.7%) with 6-10 years of experience (47.3%). Overall, 52.3% of nurses demonstrated good knowledge regarding NSIs, while 47.7% demonstrated poor knowledge. Knowledge was strongest for recognizing NSIs as percutaneous injuries (91.3%) and their potential to transmit blood-borne infections (79.5%), but weakest for knowing that post-exposure prophylaxis should begin within one hour of exposure (20.8%). Regarding practice-related attitudes, 46.2% of nurses showed good practice while 53.8% showed poor practice; 98.4% agreed that every nurse risks experiencing an NSI, and 89.4% acknowledged that increased workload contributes to NSI occurrence, while 15.9% reported inadequate education on standard precautions. Conclusion: Staff nurses demonstrated reasonably strong foundational awareness of NSI risk but showed a modest gap between knowledge and practice, with specific deficiencies in post-exposure management. Regular training, reinforced safety protocols, and a supportive reporting culture are recommended to reduce the occurrence and consequences of needle stick injuries in this healthcare setting.