Economic Impact of Needle Sticks Injuries

Abstract

Background: Needle stick injuries (NSI)s involve loss of economy at different levels to an institution which is often not addressed in many of the related studies. An assessment of such issues in terms of the money involved can actually help in planning cost effective strategies in preventing them by policy makers and hence we decided to conduct this study

Objectives: We attempted to find out the direct and indirect costs involved in managing the occupational exposures by the institution during a 2 year period

Materials and Method: This was a retrospective observational study on all the reported cases of occupational exposures (OEs) to health care workers (HCWs) that had occurred during the study period. Direct and indirect costs involved were calculated as per the CDC definition.

Results: We found that on an average each occupational exposure costs INR 4791 to the in-stitution in total which include INR 3556 and INR 1235 as direct and indirect costs respectively.

Discussion: The economic burden on the institution in managing occupational exposures to HCWs is considerable and warrants implementation of effective preventive strategies to minimize this loss. The results of the present study represent issues faced by any similar establishment in a developing country and can be used to plan cost effective intervention strategies