Özlem TERZİ, Elif Nur KÖKSAL

The frequency of injury with sharp objects in OMU Healthcare Services Vocational School of Higher Education students

Purpose: One of the risks health workers are most frequently exposed to is infectious diseases. Such infections are most frequently infected by needle pricks of syringes used on patients, injuries with blood contaminated sharp objects or mucosal exposure to infected blood or other bodily fluids. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency and reasons of sharp object injury in students studying in the field of medicine and to find out what is done in the aftermath of the injury. Method: The aim of this descriptive study consists of students studying their last year at Ondokuz Mayıs University(OMU) Healthcare Services Vocational School of Higher Education. A total of 458 students to 321(70%) students who agreed to participate in the study, have were given a face-to-face questionnaire and the data obtained were expressed as mean±standard deviation and number(%). Results: The average age of the students was 20,7±2,8 years and 71,3% of the students were female. While 55(16,8%) of the students stated that they had been injured with a sharp object within the last year. In terms of the reasons of injury, the most frequent injury occurred while closing the lid of the injector (43,6%;24students), during IV intervention (40%;22), while putting the waste in medical waste box (16,4%;10) and while dressing a wound (12,7%;7). Forty-nine percent(27) of the students who reported injury were in the department of emergency and first aid, 29,1%(16) of the students were in the department of elderly care. Conclusion: It was found that the rate of injuries was high in students studying at departments such as “emergency and first aid”, in which interventional processes are intense, the most frequent injury occurred while closing the lid of injector, individual protective measures against risks were not taken enough and occupational accidents were reported with a low rate, although it is a legalobligation. Keywords: Healthcare worker, sharp object injuries, occupational accidents, risk of infection

Keywords:

The frequency of injury with sharp objects in OMU Healthcare Services Vocational School of Higher Education students,

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Özlem Terzi1, Elif Nur Köksal2 1Public Health Department, Medical Faculty, Ondokuz Mayis University; Samsun, Turkey 2Public Health Administration, Giresun