Needlestick/sharps injuries among vocational school nursing students in southern Taiwan.
BACKGROUND
Although most needlestick/sharps injuries (NSIs/SIs) research focuses on health care workers (HCWs), students in hospital internships are also at risk. Investigations that examined NSIsS/SIs in student populations generally studied medical rather than nursing students (NSs). In 1999, approximately 17,000 Taiwanese nursing graduates were exposed to the hazard of NSIs/SIs. We examined the frequency and mechanism of NSIs/SIs among vocational school NSs in southern Taiwan.


METHODS
Between July and December of 1999, within 1 week after the NSs completed their internship training, one of the researchers, who was a teacher in this vocational school, asked them to fill out questionnaires.


RESULTS
Five hundred twenty-seven of 550 (92.6%) questionnaires were considered valid. Two hundred sixty-four of 527 (50.1%) responders sustained one or more NSIs/SIs. Ninety-six of 527 (18.2%) responders suffered contaminated NSIs/SIs. The average number of NSIs/SIs per student was 8.0 times/year (4.9 times/student/year for NSIs and 3.1 times/student/year for SIs). NSIs/SIs rates for NSs in 10-week and 4-week internships were significantly different ( P = .039): 53.3% versus 43.7%, respectively. The NSIs/SIs frequencies were influenced by length of internship: 7.3 times/student/year in 10-week internship and 11.7 times/student/year in 4-week internship. Logistic regression analysis indicated that length of internship rotation was statistically significant with respect to contaminated NSIs/SIs (OR = 1.682; 95% CI: 1.005-2.81; P = .048).


CONCLUSIONS
The NSIs/SIs frequencies of NSs were higher than those for HCWs. We found that frequency of NSIs/SIs for vocational school NSs is above average. Whether the young age of these NSs put them at greater risk for NSIs/SIs warrants further inquiry.
Yang
Ya-Hui
YH
Department of Nursing, Yuh-Ing Junior College of Health Care & Management, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 807.
Wu
Ming-Tsang
MT
Ho
Chi-Kung
CK
Chuang
Hung-Yi
HY
Chen
Limei
L
Yang
Chun-Yuh
CY
Huang
Hsiu-Yuan
HY
Wu
Trong-Neng
TN
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D013338:Students, Nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology