At-home disposal practices of used insulin needles among patients with diabetes in China: A single-center, cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundMost insulin injections for people with diabetes are administered at home, thus generating many used needles. Unsafe disposal of these at-home needles can lead to needle stick injuries, blood-borne disease transmission, and environmental contamination. Previous studies have shown varying results on the prevalence of and factors associated with safe sharps disposal practices of people with diabetes.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of and the factors associated with the safe disposal of used insulin needles among patients with diabetes.MethodsWe collected data from 271 insulin-using patients at a tertiary care hospital in China. A self-designed instrument was used to assess sociodemographic data, disease- and treatment-related characteristics, sharps disposal practices, education on diabetes self-management and sharps disposal, and awareness of the potential risks associated with unsafe sharps disposal. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore factors associated with safe sharps disposal practices.ResultsOnly 10.3% (28/271) of participants disposed of used at-home insulin needles in a safe manner, and 14.8% (45/271) of participants had received previous instruction on sharps disposal. Previous sharps disposal instruction (AOR = 4.143, 95% CI = 1.642–10.450) and awareness of the risk of blood-borne pathogen transmission (AOR = 3.064, 95% CI = 1.332–7.046) were associated with safe disposal of used insulin needles.ConclusionIn our study, the prevalence of safe sharps disposal practices was low, and a minority of respondents had received previous instruction on sharps disposal. Participants who had previously received instruction and were aware of the risk of blood-borne pathogen transmission were more likely to handle sharps safely. Our study findings suggest that health care professionals should pay attention to sharps disposal practices of patients with diabetes and conduct diabetes education programs that include information on safe sharps disposal methods and potential hazards of unsafe sharps disposal.

Localization of the questionnaire about sharps disposal at home among diabetes based on knowledge, attitude, and practice theory, and a cross-sectional survey of current conditions

“…Better understanding and mastery of pertinent information brought about by literacy in turn raises awareness of the significance of safe disposal, rectifies negative attitudes, and produces positive results ( 33 ). Some studies have shown that people with diabetes who possess awareness of the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens are more likely to take safety measures ( 23 ).…”

“…The medium-sized city of Jinzhou faces the same issue as the nation as a whole. Although a previous study was conducted in a southern Chinese city (23), the conclusions of this study are not necessarily applicable to the Jinzhou population due to the different economic, cultural and geographic contexts. Furthermore, in contrast to earlier research, this study uses the Knowledge, Attitude, Practice theoretical framework to thoroughly examine the influencing elements behind the region's present sharps disposal practices.…”

Status of waste disposal of sharps outside medical institutions for patients with diabetes: A systematic review

“…In 12 identified articles, there are 4155 patients with diabetes, as per Fig 1 . These articles were published between 2012 and 2022, with sample sizes ranging from 132 to 1436, and included eleven cross-sectional studies [5,10,[29][30][31][32][33][35][36][37][38], and one RCT studies [34]. One studies were conducted in Ethiopia [29], one in the Australia [30], two in the United States [5,31], one in Portugal [10], one in China [32], three in Malaysia [33][34][35], one in Pakistan [36], one in Saudi Arabia [37], and the other in Bosnia and Herzegovina [38]. Twelve studies reported the duration of diabetes in diabetes patients [5,10,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38], and ten reported the time of insulin injection [10,[29][30][32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

“…One studies were conducted in Ethiopia [29], one in the Australia [30], two in the United States [5,31], one in Portugal [10], one in China [32], three in Malaysia [33][34][35], one in Pakistan [36], one in Saudi Arabia [37], and the other in Bosnia and Herzegovina [38]. Twelve studies reported the duration of diabetes in diabetes patients [5,10,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38], and ten reported the time of insulin injection [10,[29][30][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. The summary characteristics of these studies are shown in Table 2.…”

“…Practice of sharps waste disposal. The majority of patients reported that they had no formal training in sharps waste disposal [5,32], and 80.7% of respondents had poor behavior [30]. The few respondents who had received proper sharps waste disposal would put sharps waste in plastic or glass bottles before sending it to a healthcare facility for disposal [33,38].…”