Needlestick injuries among nursing students in China

Yao, Wan-Xia; Yang, Biao; Yao, Cong; Bai, Pei-Song; Qian, Yao-Rong; Huang, Cai-Hui; Liu, Miao

doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2009.09.018

« Previous Next »Nurse Education Today
Volume 30, Issue 5 , Pages 435-437, July 2010

Needlestick injuries among nursing students in China

Wan-Xia Yao
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710061 Shaanxi Province, China
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710049 Shaanxi Province, China
- Corresponding author. Address: Room 111, Building 28, North Block, Mingdemen, Yanta District, Xi’an Shaanxi 710061, China. Tel.: +8629 85451656, +86 13072938612 (mobile); fax: +8602982327399.
Biao Yang
- Department of Illuminating Engineering & Light Source, Fudan University, 200433, Shanghai, China
Cong Yao
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710003 Shaanxi Province, China
Pei-Song Bai
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710061 Shaanxi Province, China
Yao-Rong Qian
- School of Nursing, Guangzhou Medical Colledge, 510180 Guangdong Province, China
Cai-Hui Huang
- School of Nursing, Zhengzhou University, 450001 Henan Province, China
Miao Liu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710061 Shaanxi Province, China
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710049 Shaanxi Province, China

Accepted 24 September 2009. published online 04 November 2009.

Summary

Objectives

To describe and characterize the rates and the nature of needlestick injuries among nursing students in China.

Methods

A questionnaire was delivered to 248 randomly selected nursing students from seven training hospitals to obtain information relevant occupational needlestick injuries.

Results

A total of 1144 incidents of needlestick injuries were reported among the 246 nurses during the time period of internship. The overall rate of needlestick injuries among these nurses was 100%, according to this survey. Insufficient awareness of occupational safety and limited work experience with handling needlestick injuries in these nurse students were significantly reported. In addition, when stratified by departments, the highest rate of needlestick injuries was seen in the surgery department. The occurrence of needlestick injuries is significantly related to clinical practice behaviors.

Conclusions

Needlestick injuries are commonly reported in nursing students in China. Enhanced awareness of occupational safety in nursing students is expected to reduce the risk of needlestick injuries.

Keywords: Nurse interns, Occupational needlestick injuries, China