Investigating needle stick injuries: Incidence, knowledge and perception among South Jordanian nursing students

Abstract

Needle stick injury (NSI) is one of the major causes of blood borne infections in the present day healthcare system. Among healthcare professionals, nursing students will most likely be exposed to this dilemma. Interventions like institutionalizing educational programs to produce awareness and knowledge among nurses can depict positive outcomes in changing perceptions toward safety measures. This study aimed to investigate the incidence, perspectives, views, perceptions, and knowledge of NSIs among nursing students studying at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University. The sample population consisted of all undergraduate nursing students from second to fourth academic levels at the university who consented to participate in this study. The mode of data collection utilized a self-structured questionnaire apportioned into four parts. The first portion of the questionnaire presented the socio-demographic details of the respondents. The second part of the questionnaire demonstrated questions about needle stick incidences at the clinical units of the participants; frequency of occurrences (i.e., number, nature, and rationale); place of occurrence; and, whether the event was reported to higher authorities. The third part of the questionnaire entailed queries associated with the knowledge of the students with respect to needle stick injury. The last part focused on the student's knowledge and perception on the risks associated to needle sticks injuries and the relative precautions to prevent such. The results showed that most of the students had positive perception of NSIs; while two thirds of the student nurses experienced NSI with increasing number of injured nurses occurring among second year students. This is due to the lack of knowledge regarding universal precaution guidelines and acupuncture safety device. Nursing students are at risks of getting infection. Proper steps are needed to promote awareness of NSI as well as the dangers and prevention from such events.