Stress and Fear of Exposure to Sharps in Nurses.
BACKGROUND
Injuries caused by sharp objects, which involve biological hazards are considered as one of the most important factors that lead to stress among the nursing staff. Contact with sharp objects is a major concern among healthcare workers, especially nurses.


OBJECTIVE
This study was done to determine the amount of stress caused by exposure to sharp medical instruments among nurses.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional research on 527 nurses, working at different medical centers across Iran, with a cluster-sampling method. The relevant data was collected with a valid and reliable questionnaire. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency of this instrument was 0.92 and interclass correlation coefficient was 0.94.


RESULTS
The results showed that ward satisfaction, having master of science, age, and number of contacts were significantly able to predict variance in stress scores. The adjusted line regression model explained 36% of the overall variance in stress score (R2 = 0.60).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study showed that exposure to sharp objects may cause high stress in the nursing staff. Considering higher levels of stress in the area of contact care, the provisions on how to deal with patients and safe care can help reduce stress.
Students' Research Committee, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Malihe Sadat
MS
Moayed
Trauma Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Hosein
H
Mahmoudi
Behavioral Science Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Abbas
A
Ebadi
School of Nursing and Midwifery of Amol, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Hamid
H
Sharif Nia
Injuries; Needle stick Injuries; Nurses; Occupational Injuries; Psychological; Stress