9 research outputs found

    The Prevalence of Needle sticks injuries among health care workers at a hospital in Tehran

    Get PDF
    ABSTRACT Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are one of the most significant and preventable hazards in relation to Healthcare workers (HCWs). Such injuries have been shown to be of high prevalence within developing countries. To determine the prevalence and circumstances pertaining to the occurrence of NSIs among HCWs employed at a special hospital. The study conducted was a cross-sectional study on HCWs and was carried out in one of Tehran's special hospitals in the year 2012. In this study, in order to identify and determine hazardous potential due to needle stick, HFMEA method was chosen. This resulted in the collection of 240 valid and reliable questionnaires. The validity and reliable nature of the questionnaires was confirmed by experts and by means of the test re-test method. The gathered data was analyzed with SPSS software, version 16.From the analysis of the data it was shown that, a total of 97 (40.42%) HCWs had suffered NSIs in the last year. The patient ward showed the highest prevalence of NSIs (47.42%) in the hospital. Nurses had the highest risk of suffering NSIs (56.7%) in comparison with the other occupational groups. All in all 175 NSIs occurred for the 240 HCWs trialed during the selected period of clinical practice. Of those that received injuries, only roughly 1 in 3 (38.14%) reported it to their infection control officer. Just over a quarter (26.80%) of the injured HCWs used post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against HIV. Almost all (88.75%) of the HCWs had received a safe injection course. In general, NSIs and their subsequent underreporting are commonplace among hospital healthcare professionals. Significantly, more than two-thirds of the injured HCWs did not use post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against HIV. Improved prevention and reporting strategies are needed if the occupational health and safety of healthcare workers is to improve

    Quantitative and qualitative study of airborne radioactive particles in the safety chamber of Tehran research reactor

    No full text
    Background and Aims: Many systems and processes can cause the introduction of radioactivity into the environment. Human activities in nuclear industry such as nuclear fuel cycle and reactor operation, lead to a significant production and release of radioactivity to the environment. Understanding the physical and chemical nature, including size, chemical composition and radioactivity of aerosol particles in the safety chamber of Tehran research reactor is indispensable for evaluation of exposure level and methods of prevention. The aim of this study was to measure the size distribution of aerosols and their activities, which was determined using an Anderson cascade Impactor (ACI) ACFM model and liquid scintillation respectively. The measurements were performed in three workstations in the safety chamber of Tehran research reactor. Methods: The identification of existing radio nuclides on suspended particles were carried out in the safety chamber by means of environmental sampler and mass size distribution of particles was measured using an Anderson cascade Impactor (ACI). To determine the type and amount of radio nuclides in the aerosol particles the γ-ray spectrometry with a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector and ultra-low level liquid scintillation spectrometer were used respectively. Results: The results showed that the activities median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) value for three selected workstations were 2.4, 3.1 and 3μm with geometric standard deviation of 2.3, 2.12 and 2 respectively. Furthermore, the results of particle activity size distribution showed that the most fraction of activity was related to nucleation and accumulation mode, especially particles with the aerodynamic diameter less than 0.4μm. Conclusion: The most activity was related to the number of particles in the accumulation and nucleation mode (fine particles). The origin of these particles can be the coagulation of particles in the nucleation mode. The accumulation mode also contains droplets formed by the chemical conversion of gases to vapors that condense
    corecore