MARCH 2005 - FHI participated in the Guyana Safer Injections Project (GSIP) under subcontract to Initiatives, Inc. to design and implement a behavior change communication strategy for a project aiming to improve injection safety. To gather the necessary information and better understand the attitudes and practices around the use of injections in Guyana, FHI/Initiatives planned and implemented a large-scale qualitative formative assessment that covered 221 respondents including doctors, nurses, patients and hospital and municipal cleaners. During the assessment, FHI-trained facilitators explored some of the following areas:

• Patients' feelings about receiving injections and oral medication
• Medical staff's feelings about prescribing and administering injections
• Medical staff and hospital cleaners' feelings about their safety on the job and sharps disposal
• Medical staff and cleaners' knowledge about steps to be taken in case of accidental needlestick

The result of this large-scale assessment was a detailed Attitudes and Behaviors Report that became a foundation of GSIP behavior change communication strategy. Download the full report for more information such as project background, key findings, comparative analysis, conclusions and recommendations.