Students nurses' knowledge and prevalence of Needle Stick Injury in Jordan

Student nurses are at high risk of blood-borne pathogens transmitted via Needle Stick Injury (NSI). Understanding various aspects of NSI is essential if they are to avoid the risks associated with it.

The study was conducted to measure student nurses' level of knowledge about NSI and to examine its prevalence and post-exposure measures in Jordan.

A cross-sectional and descriptive design was used.

A sample of 279 student nurses studying at one private and four government universities distributed throughout Jordan.

The study used an online survey composed of 22 questions developed from NSI literature. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: background, to measure students' demographics; knowledge, to measure nurses' understanding of NSI; and prevalence, to measure exposure to NSI and the follow-up measures. Student nurses were recruited through Facebook. The survey was available online for one full semester in 2016/2017.

The total number of completed surveys was 279 (response rate=61%). Most of the students were female (n=198; 71%), in their fourth year (n=114; 40.9%). Their mean age was 21years (SD=2.5). The mean score for the knowledge part was 7 out of 10 (SD=1.7). Almost a third of the students had at least one incident of exposure to NSI (n=73; 26.2%). Most of the students who had suffered NSI did not inform their clinical instructors (67.1%) or write an incident report (86.3%). The results showed that there was no significant difference in the knowledge total scores between males and females or between students across different universities. However, a significant difference was found between students in different years of study (F (276, 2)=6.77, p=0.001).

Student nurses in Jordan have a moderate understanding of issues regarding NSI. This knowledge improved with seniority. However, exposure to NSI and its under-reporting is a prevalent problem. This study recommends focusing on NSI in the nursing curriculum, and providing more protection and post-exposure intervention for students during their clinical practice.