Summary: | 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.
|