Abstract:ObjectiveTo investigate the occurrence of incidence of sharp injuries (SI) among health care workers(HCWs) in Shaanxi province, and provide scientific basis for taking preventive measures to reduce incidence of SI.MethodsA crosssectional investigation on the occurrence of SI in medical facilities at 30 hospitals of Shaanxi province in May 2011 was carried out through questionnaire.ResultsAmong 16 386 investigated HCWs, 1 489 (9.09%) occurred 1 901 times of SI, the average frequency was 0.12 times / person / month; nurses(10.36%) and HCWs who worked for 5 to 10 years (10.38%) were the highrisk groups for SI; the locations where SI usually occurred were general wards (37.88%) and operating rooms (23.25%); the major medical devices causing SI were syringe needles (33.98%), intravenous infusion needles(23.25%) and surgical needles(16.73%); the major procedures involving in SI were surgical suture(14.31%),putting needles into sharps containers (11.20%),removing needles from artery or vein(9.89%), and putting needle cap back(9.68%);1 351 cases (71.07%) of SI can be traced to exposure sources,781 (41.08%) were contaminated SI, 54 were bloodborne disease exposure, the exposure rate of bloodborne diseases was 4.00%. Of bloodborne exposure, hepatitis B virus exposure accounted for 74.07%(40/54),syphilis 12.96%(7/54),hepatitis C virus 11.11%(6/54),and human immunodeficiency virus 1.85%(1/54).ConclusionSI is a common occupational injury in medical facilities, incidence of SI can be reduced by reducing unnecessary sharps exposure,promoting the use of safe medical devices, performing the standard operation and taking safe protective measures.