Psychosocial work characteristics and needle stick and sharps injuries among nurses in China: a prospective study

Psychosocial work characteristics may be associated with needle stick and sharps injuries (NSIs) among nurses. The current evidence is, however, sparse, inconclusive, and mainly limited to cross-sectional investigations. We aimed to contribute prospective data.

We conducted a prospective study among 1,791 female hospital nurses from China. At baseline and at a 1-year follow-up, fourteen psychosocial work characteristics were assessed by the short Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. At follow-up, any NSI in the workplace during the previous year was measured by participants' self-reports. We quantified associations between (1) psychosocial work characteristics at baseline and NSIs at follow-up by multivariate relative risks (Poisson regression) and (2) NSIs reported at follow-up with psychosocial work characteristics at follow-up (multivariate linear regression, among others, adjusted for psychosocial work characteristics at baseline).

The only psychosocial work characteristic associated with a slightly increased risk of subsequent NSIs was quantitative demands. Examining the opposite direction of effect, we found that NSIs during the year preceding the follow-up were associated with slightly worse ratings of seven psychosocial work characteristics at follow-up (i.e., influence at work, meaning of work, commitment to the workplace, quality of leadership, social support, social community at work, and job insecurity).

Overall, our study does not provide compelling evidence for an association of psychosocial work characteristics and subsequent occurrence of NSIs. By contrast, experience of NSIs may predict less favorable perceptions of psychosocial work characteristics.