PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED MANAGEMENT APPROACHES OF NEEDLE- STICK INJURIES AMONGST PUBLIC SECTOR DENTAL PRACTITIONERS, SOUTH AFRICA

Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) exposes dental practitioners to infectious disease- causing blood-borne pathogens, which can adversely affect employee performance, health, wellness, morale, productivity, and service delivery. Public sector dental practitioners provide primary dental services to low-income individuals and communities and are constantly at risk of experiencing occupational injuries. A quantitative, cross-sectional prevalence study was conducted in City of Johannesburg metro, South Africa. The study received university ethics approval (REC-873-2021) and site approval (GP_202101_023). Purposive study sample size was pre-determined and consisted of 36 public sector dental practitioners from the 26 public dental clinics in the metro. Data was collected using a piloted self-administered questionnaire. The data management and analyses were performed using SPSS software. Descriptive analyses and bivariate (chi-square) tests were performed to assess the association between various socio-demographic, behavioural, clinical, and managerial factors and NSI status. The prevalence of NSIs was 47.2% (n=17). Most NSIs occurred whilst changing local anaesthetic ampules (35%), and during needle recapping (29%). Only 38.9% of participants reported to have occupational injury guidelines in their clinics, and only 41.7% reported to have Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) guidelines (which were found to be outdated). Only one variable, response to injury, was a significant predictor of NSI status (p<0.05). No significant associations were observed between other socio-demographic, behavioural, clinical, and managerial factors and NSI status. The study thus draws attention to high-risk activities and behaviours, as well as shortcomings in the workplace including the common practice of needle-recapping, a low rate of needle incineration, a low injury reporting rate, and inadequate knowledge regarding PEP. Recommendations for control measures to prevent and manage NSIs were summarised using the Hierarchy of Controls.