ABSTRACT
Introduction: Needle stick injuries are often neglecteddespite being an important occupational hazard, withpotential to transmit infectious diseases. There is a need forraising awareness about them among all cadres of health careworkers. The current study was done to assess the problem inGovernment Health facilities of a rural district of J&K.Material and methods: Descriptive cross sectional study wasdone using all the secondary and 40% of the primary healthfacilities of the district. Study was conducted among doctors,paramedics and waste handlers. Statistics involved wereproportions or percentages, assessed by chi square test.Results: about 85% health workers considered needle stickinjury as a matter of concern. 27% were recapping the needleafter use. 12% had suffered a needle stick injury in the last oneyear and only half of them were immunized for Hepatitis B.Conclusion: There is a need of sensitization of the variouscadres of healthcare staff which is necessary to decreasethe risk of occupational exposure of infectious diseaseswith significant focus on waste handlers. There is a needfor enhancing the coverage of Hepatitis B immunizationespecially among the waste handlers who form the mostvulnerable group.