Global Journal of Public Health Medicine (Mar 2024)
KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE ABOUT NEEDLE STICK INJURY TOWARDS PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT AMONG CLINICAL STUDENTS AT PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN CYBERJAYA, MALAYSIA
Abstract
Introduction: Needle stick injury has been proven to be one of the modes of transmitting blood-borne viruses. Previous studies showed a high prevalence of needle stick injury among medical students during clinical activities due to a lack of knowledge. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of needle stick injury among clinical students and the association between knowledge-attitude and knowledge-practice of needle stick injury. Methods: An online descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among clinical medical students at the University of Cyberjaya and the sample was selected using convenience sampling. Results: The majority of the respondents were female (70.9%) and year 4 students (51.7%). Only 8.6% of the respondents experienced needle stick injuries. The tasks performed during injury are mostly disposal of needles (3.3%) and recapping needles (3.3%). The perceived cause of the injury is mostly due to lack of experience (4.6%). The majority of the respondents had a satisfactory level of knowledge (84.1%), and a satisfactory level of attitude (84.8%), and almost half of them had an average or poor level of practice (42.4%). However, there was no significant association between the level of knowledge and level of attitude and level of knowledge and level of practice (p>0.05). Conclusion: The majority of clinical medical students had a satisfactory level of knowledge and attitude towards needle stick injury whereas the level of practice among them was a matter of concern. Therefore, adequate interventions toward needle stick injury precautions are needed to improve the level of practice among clinical medical students.
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