Prevalence of nonreporting behavior of sharps injuries in Taiwanese health care workers

Background: Health care workers (HCWs) were surveyed to identify factors associated with nonreporting behavior of sharps injuries (SIs) in Taiwan. Methods: We surveyed 10,469 full-time medical, nursing, technical, and supporting personnel employed at 16 randomly selected hospitals from 132 available accredited teaching hospitals in Taiwan. Information about the most recent injury and reporting behavior after an SI were collected from July 1996 to June 1997 by using a pretested structured questionnaire. Eleven categories, including an open-ended option, were provided for participants to explain their nonreporting behavior. Results: Questionnaires were completed by 82.6% (8645) of our sample, of whom 87.3% reported to have experienced a recent SI. A used item was the most commonly (P