KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF NEEDLE STICK INJURY AMONG MEDICAL, NURSING AND PARAMEDIC STUDENTS OF MEDICAL FACULTY OF HOSPITAL CHANCELLOR TUANKU MUHRIZ: Article in Press

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge and awareness among students from the Faculty of Medicine at Hospital Chancellor Tuanku Mukhriz (HCTM). A cross sectional study was conducted from May 2017 to September 2017 among medical, nursing and paramedic students of HCTM. A validated self-administered questionnaire was delivered via convenience sampling. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23 software and one sample T test was used to analyze the data against the standard setting value. A total of 327 students participated.  The mean age of respondents was 23.32 ± 2.37. The prevalence of NSI was 8.3% with majority having at least once (85.2%) and mostly not reported (74.1%). Paramedic students had significantly higher knowledge (10.71 ± 1.64, p<0.001) and awareness (5.50 ± 0.86, p<0.001) compared to standard setting. Nursing students also had significantly higher knowledge (9.94 ± 1.38, p<0.001) and awareness (5.35 ± 1.07, p<0.001) compared to standard setting. Meanwhile, medical students did not have a significant difference in knowledge (9.95 ± 1.39, p=0.589) but a significant difference in awareness (5.87 ± 1.03, p<0.001) compared to standard setting. The main exposure for NSI was at medical posting (77.8%) during procedure needle recapping (70.4%) using hollow needle (63%). The results showed that the knowledge and awareness of NSI among future healthcare providers is sufficient. However, the incidence of NSI cannot be ignored and further intervention is warranted.