Abstract

Hands can be considered as the body part which directly contributes towards a considerable spectrum of economical and habitual survival of mankind. Therefore, it is extremely important to manage these injuries with maximum care and accuracy. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Orthopaedic unit, National Hospital Sri Lanka for a period of three months duration in 2020. Sample size was 150 and participants were selected by using the consecutive sampling technique. An interviewer administered data collection sheet and a data extraction sheet were used as the study instruments. Data analysis was done by using SPSS version 25.0. Project was ethically cleared by the ethics review committee of National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Mean age of the study participants was 40.92 years (SD=14.23). A male predominance was observed in the study findings (N=123; 82.0%). Occupational injuries were commonly observed (42%) and work place was considered (36%) as the place with the highest risk. Majority of the hand injuries were soft tissue injuries (62.0%). Hand injuries were commonly observed during wood work. Occupational injuries (OR=2.41), hand injuries caused during road traffic accidents (OR=2.31) and injuries occurred during usage of tools (OR=2.4) were significantly associated with surgical interventions. Fractures and soft tissue injuries are the most common hand injuries reported in Sri Lanka. Occupational interventions and road traffic accidents provide a larger contribution for hand injuries. A significant majority of the patients with hand injuries demand surgical treatment procedures. Usage of safety measures and personal protective equipment play an important role in reduction of severity of injury and prevention of hand injuries. It is appropriate to pay attention on developing specified acute hand injury management protocols and display them at emergency management centres for rapid access. Using Personal Protective Equipment according to accurate protocols should be promoted and using hand held instruments with adequate safety measures should be emphasized. Stakeholders external to the health ector should be identified for hand injury prevention promotion activities and special attention should be paid on programs with multisectoral contribution.