Introduction: Health care workers (HCW) may avoid healthcare-associated infections through adherence to Standard Precautions (SP) resulting in better clinical outcomes and decreased medical costs. Reduction of that must be considered for all blood borne pathogens through adherence to standard precautions, using personal protective equipments, appropriate use of safety devices, and providing a needle disposal system in the work place. Some articles have involved data about adherence of healthcare workers to standard precautions toward infection control and prevention in developing countries. Aim of work: To assess Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of HCW to SP of infection control guidelines in one of the major tertiary health care facilities in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to asses Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices related to SP among 202 medical staff; physicians and nurses, using a standardized self-administered questionnaire based on CDC (Center for Disease and Control) guidelines to Standard Precautions from May to July 2015. Results: physicians achieved higher score of Knowledge compared to nurses (P<0.05). The mean score of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among females is higher than males with statistically significant difference, and higher scores of Knowledge were associated with higher scores of Practices. Conclusion: Findings of the present study highlighted the need for continuing training programs to target nurses and physicians to establish acceptance of appropriate practices that enable them to adopt and adhere to SP.

Introduction: Needle Stick Injuries are common and expected among health-care workers during execution of their patient care services. Aim of work: To estimate annual incidence of needle stick and sharps injuries among health care workers and to describe the associated factors and type of injuries in a tertiary hospital in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The target group was all health care workers who obligatory reported for needle stick, sharp injuries during the period from January 2013 to December 2015. The occupational health specialist of the hospital interviewed them to take full documented history through standard questionnaire, performed examination if needed and requested for necessary investigations for the workers and the source patient if known. Results: about 30% of the injuries occurred in Emergency Rooms, followed by Operating Theater (about 20%). The commonest site of injury was fingers (70%). It was more common among female, especially nurses (33.3%). Investigating their Anti HBs antibody titre showed 90.6 % immune. The highest reported incidence occurs during blood sample collection (28.2%). Health care workers explained the cause of injury in form of being rushed (38.46%) or feeling fatigued (28.20%). Majority of them (58.12%) squeezed and cleaned the affected part with disinfectant as immediate actions following exposure. Conclusion: Occupational injuries with needles or other sharps are common among health care professionals especially nurses. It is more incident at emergency room due to high level of stress and rush at work. Training of workers and is recommended to increase their knowledge about the danger of injuries and the appropriate immediate action to be done after