Abstract
This project aimed to assess the magnitude and risk factors for sharps injuries from handling medical waste in five public hospitals in Abu Dhabi. The study populations formed two groups: medical waste handlers and healthcare staff. A review of the international literature on relevant studies illustrated the circumstances in other countries and pointed to areas for study in Abu Dhabi. The regulatory structures for safeguarding the health and safety of workforces in health care in technologically advanced nations were examined so as to allow the most effective regulatory framework to be developed and proposed for the medical institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, taking account of its own social and industrial circumstances. The populations selected for study, representative samples of the healthcare staff and medical waste handlers in the five hospitals, were investigated through a holistic and multidimensional approach, using qualitative and quantitative methods. The methods included; field observational visits to the participant hospitals (for observation and interviews of the staff): and cross-sectional studies, for which questionnaires were used. The results described the demographic characteristics of the two study populations, highlighting their age structures, nationalities, lengths of experience, and permanence or transience. Their use of safety equipment, exposures to education and training in occupational health and safety, frequencies and experience of injuries, and the risk factors for those injuries were investigated. These variables were analyzed to ascertain the sub-groups most vulnerable to the injuries from sharps and needle sticks. The findings highlighted issues which required to be resolved in order to improve the efficiency of the handling and managing of medical waste and to diminish the associated risks for the healthcare staff and medical waste handlers in these hospitals. The positive responses from managements and staff during this study showed the value of careful planning for the investigations in order to obtain the full support of the managements and willing cooperation of the workforces. The results identified several areas where deeper and continuing studies appeared essential in order to obtain light on the many components of the collaborative national aim of having a healthy, active and consequently productive workforce through a sound system of health protection of the hospitals workforce as a significant component of the nation's healthcare system.