Project Summary: Needle Stick Prevention
A strategy to address and prevent needle stick incidents at the Lab.
Performance Gap
Based on the provided data, needle stick incidents have been a recurring problem at the lab.
After a review of incident reports and personnel interviews, safety coordinators found that needle sticks primarily occur when uncapping or recapping needles. Despite OJT provided by principal investigators and lab managers, researchers continue to stick themselves with unprotected needles, the cause of which comes down to habitual behaviors, where people tend to recap containers before disposing of them.
Solution
To design and produce media to be placed at the point of performance: 1) a video embedded in the Activity Manager that demonstrates how to use a recapping tool, and 2) posters and visuals posted in and around fume hoods that remind researchers not to recap needles.
Video: Prevent Needle Stick Injuries
This demonstration video was recorded on-location in an environment that the viewer will likely encounter. It was important to show how to prepare the needle recapping tool if needed, how to use it, and what to do if recapping is not necessary to complete the work.
Roles
- Storyboard artist
- Script writer
- Videographer
- Editor
Magnets
Printed magnets can be placed within the fume hood to clearly communicate that needles should not be capped. The goal of the design was to use images to communicate the desired behavior. Posted instructions could be overlooked due to “poster blindness”.
Roles
- Photographer
- Graphic designer
- Model/actor
Poster: Don’t Recap, Dispose
This poster clearly states what the researcher is supposed to do when discarding a used needle.
Roles
- Photographer and editor
- Graphic designer
- Model/actor
Poster: How to recap a needle
In the event that recapping a needle is needed and approved in the Activity Manager, this poster demonstrates how to use the needle recapper.
Roles
- Photographer and editor
- Graphic designer
- Model/Actor
