Knowledge and Self-Reported Practice of Insulin Injection Device Disposal among Diabetes Patients in Gondar Town, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background. Incorrect sharp disposal practices may expose the public to needle-stick injuries. The present study aimed at assessing the knowledge and practice of diabetic patients towards insulin injection device disposal in Gondar town, Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was employed on insulin requiring diabetes patients who visited the diabetes clinic at Gondar University Referral Hospital (GURH) from February 1 to March 28, 2016. Frequencies, percentages, and ANOVA (analysis of variance) and Student's t-test were used to analyze variables. Results. About half of the participants (49.5%) had poor knowledge towards safe insulin injection waste disposal. More than two-thirds (80.7%) of respondents had poor practice and 64.3% of respondents did not put insulin needle and lancets into the household garbage. 31% of respondents threw sharps on street when they travel outside. Respondents living in urban areas had a higher mean of knowledge and practice score than those who live in rural area. Conclusions. This study revealed that knowledge and practice of diabetic patients were low towards safe insulin injection waste disposal in study area. Healthcare providers should also be aware of safe disposing system and counsel patients on appropriate disposal of used syringes.

Practices related to sharps disposal among diabetic patients in Sri Lanka

“…This finding was in agreement with some studies [6, 8, 14, 18] while others did not support this [11]. However the higher educated are expected to have better ability to acquire information, so it is possible that they may have been better educated about their disease and to recognize the hazardous nature and need for safe disposal of their sharps.…”

“…It may be because when one initially handles sharps they tend to be more cautious about it, but as they get used to it, it may be perceived as less threatening. However, in another study, insulin use more than 5 years, being type 1 had better practice [6]. These contradictory findings in different settings suggest that sharps disposal practises maybe more intrinsically related to motivation and encouragement of patients irrespective of the duration of insulin use.…”

“…This Re-capping and re-use of needles increase the risk of infection to the patient if proper procedures are not adhered to. The reuse of syringes has been consistently identified as a major route of hepatitis B and C transmission in other countries [4–6, 10]. Patients who were > 60 years of age were involving family members with injecting insulin and disposal of sharps.…”

“…These procedures invariably generate sharps within the household as most patients inject insulin at home. Improper disposal of these sharps has the potential to cause many public health problems [3–6]. These could include personal injury, blood-borne infections via needle stick injuries to others such as family members, neighbors and sometimes even the public.…”

Knowledge of Diabetic patients about Insulin injection technique.

“…The result of our study are comparable to other studies carried worldwide. 21 Urban patients have better knowledge than rural patients. These results are consistent with other studies conducted in Pakistan.…”