Sharps injury imposed a major threat towards safety and health among healthcare workers (HCWs). Many studies in Malaysia concentrated on prevalence of needle stick injury (NSI), however the prevalence of sharps injury among HCWs based on local guideline was still scarce in Malaysia. This information gap leads us to conduct this study. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of sharps injury among HCWs in Hospital Melaka and to describe the factors among staff with sharps injury. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Hospital Melaka, Malaysia. 165 reported cases from 2013-2015 were reviewed and secondary data extracted. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. Among reported sharps injury cases in this study, 65 (39.4%) were male, while 100 (60.6%) were female. The mean age was 27.41 (SD: 6.06). More than half of the reported sharps injury occurred among doctor, 113 (68.5%) specifically House Officer; 89 (53.9%) followed by paramedic, 26 (15.8%) and others, 26 (15.8%). Mostly occurred in ward, 114 (69.1%). The device which accounted for most of sharps injury cases was hypodermic needle, 67 (40.6%). Many of the sharps injury cases occurred while withdrawing needle from patient, 26 (15.9%). Prevalence of sharps injury among HCWs in this study was 0.8% in year 2013, 1.1% in year 2014 and 0.5% in year 2015. Nearly half from the total number of reported sharps injury cases among HCWs in Hospital Melaka were from Medical Department, 71 (43%). Recommended measures include usage of Safety-engineered devices (SEDs) and emphasize on standard precaution.

Occupational sharps injury remains a never-ending issue faced by healthcare workers (HCWs). There were several types of post-exposure management available. Thus, it was hoped that a narrative overview could further illuminate this. Methodology: A search was conducted to review published and unpublished studies through searches of online databases (i.e., PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Google search and Science Direct) on occupational sharps injury management, including bloodborne diseases, post-exposure management and rationale of the follow-up interval. Results: Working in a healthcare setting, sharps appeared to be an inevitable hazard faced every day by individual HCWs. While PEP was available for HIV and Hepatitis B, none was available for Hepatitis C, albeit the latter seemed to have curative treatment for it. Conclusion: We hoped that this narrative overview could provide an impetus towards the understanding of post-exposure management in our local healthcare setting.

Introduction: Adherence to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) regimens remains a difficult issue. Thus, it was hoped that the use of phone reminders would improve adherence. Methods: The Cochrane database was searched using selected keywords for this meta-analysis. We included randomised, controlled trials (RCTs) that utilised interventions with phone reminder and reported adherence outcomes, as the proportion of prescribed pills taken, the scores on an adherence questionnaire, or the follow-up rate. Two independent authors screened titles of article for inclusion, extracted the relevant data, and assessed articles for risk of bias. Results: Seven RCTs published between 2010 and 2017 were selected for inclusion in this review. The sample size ranged from 76 to 631 participants. Most RCTs used short message service (SMS) and phone call reminders as interventions. The rate of adherence was 1.17-fold greater among those who received phone reminders than those who did not, which was statistically significant (Z = 2.86, p = 0.004). Those who received phone reminders showed a 17% higher likelihood for adherence compared with those who did not receive any phone reminder interventions. Conclusions Phone reminders remain significantly effective means for improving adherence.