Abstract :
Background: In some areas of the WHO South East Asian region (which includes India) the estimate for
unsafe injection is as high as 75%. Safety of the patients, healthcare professionals (HCP) and the community
are ensured by adequate knowledge of HCP of injection safety. The present study was undertaken to assess
injection safety knowledge among HCP in a tertiary care hospital.
Objective: To assess knowledge and safety awareness of injection among HCP.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted among doctors and nurses of purposively
selected five departments in a Government tertiary care hospital in Delhi. Knowledge of HCP was assessed
using self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) based on modified and pre-tested WHO tool C on injection
safety. Number of participants were 250 (131 doctors and 119 nurses). Collected data was analyzed using
Microsoft excel & Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 23).
Results: Overall 16.8% of HCP had correct knowledge regarding WHO definition of injection safety. Knowledge
was found to be good among HCP on correct injection techniques. Awareness of study participants on
Universal precautions was not satisfactory as only 53.2% HCP had correct knowledge.
Conclusion: The study findings identified many gaps in the existing knowledge among HCP on injection
safety. These gaps need to be filled by having separate injection safety guidelines, regular trainings of HCP,
seminars and workshops on injection safety topic.
Keyword :
Injection safety, Knowledge, HCP, NSI, WHO