[Study of needle stick injuries among health care workers at teaching hospitals in Urmia]

Personel who reguraly practice invasive procedures such as blood sample collection are particulary at risk to percutanous injuries. Needle stick injuries present the single gerates risk to medical personnel's. This sudy was undertaken to analyze the problem of needdle sticks injuries among health care workers at teaching hospitals in Urmia in 2008 year. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 personals of Urmia teaching hospitals. A structured questionnaire was used to interview the study participants at their work place. Participants were asked to recall needle stick injuries in the preceding 12 months. Factors such as work experience, type of procedure, action taken following injury etc were also studied. The samples were selected by using simple random sampling in every hospital. The data were analyzed according to aims, by using Descriptive and analytical method. Around 25% [107/400] of the Health care workers had experienced a needle stick injury in the last six-months. Needle sticks injuries in females and male was 28% and 24% respectively. Most of the injuries created by needle [47.3%] and anjiocat needle [19.9%]. The results of this study show that the prevalence rates of needle stick injuries are a major risk in hospitals personnel. Therefore there is a need at the hospital level to have a uniform needle stick injuries policy covering safe work practices, safe disposal of sharps, procedures in event of needle stick injury, training including pre-employment training monitoring and evaluation of needle stick injuries and procedures for reporting needle stick injuries

Association between the socio-economic indicators and infant mortality rate [IMR] in Iran

Infant mortality is one of the main indexes in the assessment of a society's access to the primary health care services. Many factors are involved in this regard. The present study aimed at determining the structural association between socio-economic variables and the rate of infant mortality rate. The required data and information were collected from the multiple indicator cluster surveys [MICS,1998], reports of the Statistical Centre of Iran [SCI] from the population indices in 2003, the project of Incomes and Costs of the Iranian Families [2002] and the National Health Survey on Iran [NHS- 1999]. In this study dependent variable was IMR and independent variable was demographic and socioeconomic factors. The data were analyzed by Path Analysis method. According to the standardized coefficients, the illiteracy rate of the women aged 15-46 years is one of the main factors that, not directly but indirectly awareness, attitude and performance of the women, increases IMR by as much as 0.8, partly about 0.3 due to the lack of access to the health services such as urbanity and the percentage of caesarean. In addition, the index of consumption costs has direct and decreasing effect of about 0.353 on the infant mortality rate. Reduction in women's illiteracy rate, increase of the families, welfare and the present of access to high quality services are the most important factors that decrease IMR