Compliance with Recommended Universal Precautions for Control Infection by Needlestick Injury among Nursing Students

Abstract

Health care workers (HCWs) such as nurses are usually exposed to infectious diseases. Some infectious diseases do not have any offered vaccination or complete treatment, thus blood-borne infections are a serious cause of anxiety for HCWs. Objective of this study was to assess nursing students’ knowledge, observation of environmental risk factors, and compliance with recommended universal precautions about the prevention of infectious diseases by needlestick injury. Methods: descriptive research design was used. Setting of this study was conducted in the college of nursing at Jazan University. Sample: convenient sample of 120 students was used in the present study. Tools of data collection were consisting of four tools first; socio-demographic characteristics sheet, second; students’ knowledge assessment sheet, third; students’ compliance actions assessment sheet; fourth observations of environmental and risk factors. Results of the study revealed that, most dominant place for taking first teaching about prevention of blood borne organisms is classroom (46.4%) for 8th level students, while labs is taking the highest response (42.2%) with in 3rd level students. The majority of the 3rd level students (87.5%) had fair knowledge scores related to the subject compared to (89.3%) of the 8th level students. More than two thirds (68.7%) of the first year students had fair compliance scores with mean scores (29.10±4.17) compared to (48.2%) of the fourth year with mean scores (29.30±5.31). Conclusion: Majority of the studied students had average knowledge about prevention of infectious disease related needlestick injuries. Minority of the students in both first and fourth year had good compliance with recommended universal precautions. More than half of the students in third level and near half in eighth level had poor environmental risk factors. Recommendations: Establishing educational and awareness’ programs for all nursing students about the dangerous and prevention of occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens, infectious diseases and needlestick injury.