OBJECTIVES: Exposure to blood-borne pathogens poses a serious risk to health care workers (HCW). In Kenya, 76.6% of occupational exposures to HIV/AIDs among HCWs were attributed to needle stick injuries (NSIs). Blood exposures (BEs) are strongly associated with lack of safety device use and inadequate safety practices. Safety engineered devices (SEDs) can be a cost-effective solution as they can minimize the involved risks.

METHODS: A health economic calculator was developed using MS Excel 2016 for analyzing costs of using SEDs to prevent NSIs and BEs in Kenyan HCWs. The cost analysis estimates the impact of switching to safety injections and PIVCs from conventional devices from a hospital perspective. A targeted literature review informed published values for the rate of PIVC utilization, occurrence of NSIs, reduction in NSIs due to SEDs, and costs of managing varying risk of NSIs.

RESULTS: The base-case analysis assumed a Kenyan facility with 1,000 beds, an occupancy rate of 80%, average patient length of stay of 3 days, and 400 healthcare workers. It was found, with an estimated 70% of needles used for injection, three needles used per bed per day, and 90% patients getting a PIVC, that 613,200 injection needles and 110,420 PIVCs were used annually. A scenario with 100% SED adoption could potentially lead to 81 fewer NSIs and 35 fewer BEs versus 100% conventional device usage. Correspondingly, the cost of managing exposure may be reduced by $193,408. Further considering SED costs, the total economic impact was a savings of $71,243.

CONCLUSIONS: NSIs and BEs pose a significant burden to the health system, while SEDs provide an opportunity to help mitigate clinical risks and generate cost savings. SEDs could, thus, promote safer injection practices and facilitate behavior change among HCWs and communities to appropriately reduce risks.