Social and Ethical Implications
A significant ethical issue for the project is whether or not the needle-remover will cause more harm than its potential benefits. Engineers are obliged to use their skills and knowledge to improve the safety, health, and welfare of the public (Biomedical Engineering Society, 2004). The main concern is for the operator of the device; no engineer should create a device that could injure the operator. Another concern is that children may gain access to the device and accidentally hurt themselves. If a device design could potentially cause either of these problems, the team would be ethically obligated to reexamine that design, and it would either have to be improved or abandoned. When the device functions effectively and safely, it will serve to protect the welfare of the community. In developing countries, the risk of disease transmission is elevated due to the high percentage of needle-stick injuries, which is a result of inadequate needle collection devices (Department of Essential Health Technology, 2004). Increased pathogen transmission also occurs from the reuse of contaminated needles when supplies are low (Sagoe-Moses et al., 2001). The device will prevent reuse of needles and facilitate needle collection and disposal, and thus will improve the health and safety of hospital workers and the community.
The social and economic effects of the device also need to be recognized. In developing countries, the lack of proper needle collection devices leads to an increase in the number of occupational needle-sticks by HCWs via contaminated needles. Occupational needle-sticks account for 40%-65% of Hepatitis B and C infections in HCWs (Prüss-Üstün, Rapiti, and Hutin, 2003). As a result, more HCWs have to undergo postexposure testing and treatment, both of which cost money for the hospitals and the countries. There is also the manpower cost associated with losing trained HCWs to infections acquired on the job. With fewer than 10 doctors for every 100,000 individuals in sub-Saharan nations, any loss of hospital staff puts a strain of hospital resources. In addition, developing countries have made significant investments in training their HCWs, which is lost when occupational needle-sticks cause HCWs to leave the medical field (Sagoe-Moses et al., 2001).
The economic considerations are not just limited to costs associated with HCWs. Due to the high cost of needle-disposal containers and the fact that the containers usually have to be shipped overseas, unsafe and dangerous substitutes are used instead. This practice can potentially lead to needle-sticks by HCWs and individuals in the community, as well as needle reuse by members of the community, which can increase the potential spread of diseases.
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