Sharp/Needlestick Injuries Among Clinical Students at A Tertiary Hospital in Eastern Uganda.
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
medRxiv
Abstract
Clinical students, like health workers, are at risk of sharp/needle stick injuries and
potential percutaneous exposure to blood and body fluids. They acquire infections like Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) through injuries. This study
determined the prevalence and factors associated with sharp injuries among clinical students at
Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
Methods: Across sectional study was carried out at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, a teaching
hospital located along Pallisa road, Mbale City, Eastern Uganda. Ethical approval was obtained,
Printed and soft copy questionnaires eliciting demographics, injury occurrence and associated
factors were randomly and conveniently distributed respectively to 322 clinical students. Data
was entered in Microsoft excel, cleaned and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis.
Results: One hundred sixty (55.2%) clinical students had sustained a sharp injury in their
clinical practice with a self-reported prevalence of 46.6% in the last year. The majority of the
students 93(68.9%), sustained multiple sharp injuries. The common cause and site of injury were
solid needles 72(45%) and finger (83.1%). Most students, 197(67.9%) reported ward procedures not being supervised and 124(42%) students worked on 15 and above patients daily. Final year
clinical students were more likely to sustain sharp injuries than semi-finalists (P=0.000, OR
3.195% CI 1.7-5.5). Students who worked on ≥15 patients were more likely to sustain a sharp
injury than those who attended to < 15 patients daily (P=0.000, OR 6.3 95% CI 3.7-10.8%).
Students’ knowledge about sharp/infection control was limited.
Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of needle stick injuries among clinical
students. The associated factors were; the year of study, having not learned about infection
control, the number of patients attended to daily. Students should attend to a manageable number
of patients, carry out procedures not rushing while supervised. It is important to create awareness
and train students on infection control before and during their deployment in clinical areas as
their health and the future of the health sector depend on them.
Description
Keywords
Clinical students, Needlestick injuries, The prevalence of sharp injuries, Infection control
Citation
Elisa, N., Ssenyonga, L., Iramiot, J. S., Nuwasiima, D., & Rebecca, N. (2023). Sharp/Needlestick Injuries Among Clinical Students at A Tertiary Hospital in Eastern Uganda. medRxiv, 2023-02. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.01.23285330