Fig. 3From: Prevalence of needlestick and sharps injuries in the healthcare workers of Iranian hospitals: an updated meta-analysisReduction in prevalence of NSIs during 2003–2016 according to meta-regression. This figure shows meta-regression analysis of needlestick prevalence based on selected studies’ publication years. The vertical axis represents the prevalence, and the horizontal axis represents the selected studies’ publication year. Slope of the regression line indicates an increase or decrease of study effect using REML estimation. Given the slope of the regression line is descending in this figure, it can be inferred that as the studies’ publication year has been increased, the prevalence of needlestick has been decreased. Gray color lines around the slope of the regression line indicate 95% confidence interval. Each circle demonstrates one selected study and the size of each circle corresponds to the weight assigned to each study. Reverse weight corresponds to the standard error of each studyBack to article page