Status of needle-related injuries among nursing students at Hanoi Medical University, campus in Thanh Hoa province, in 2024

Objective: Describe the current situation of sharp object injuries among nursing students at Hanoi Medical University, campus in Thanh Hoa in 2024. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted involving 168 regular nursing students in their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years. Results: Among 168 nursing students who practiced at the hospital, 117 had experienced injuries from sharp objects such as needles and glass shards, accounting for 69.6%. The majority of these injuries were among female students, accounting for 88.8%. In the past six months, the total number of sharp object injuries among the 117 students was 348, with an average of 2.1 injuries per student. Third-year students had a higher average number of injuries at 2.8 times per 6 months. The highest occurrence of sharp object injuries during clinical internships was during the day 70.1% and at night 29.9%. Most injuries occurred on daytime 81%, while weekends and holidays had a lower rate 19%. The most common activity causing injuries was breaking ampoules 45.4%, followed by administering injections 21.1%. Hands were the most commonly injured body part 87.9%. Among the students who experienced sharp object injuries: 62.6% treated their wounds correctly, 33.3% treated their wounds incorrectly and 4.1% did not treat their wounds at all. Conclusion: The proportion of nursing students who had been injured by sharp objects was 69.6%. Keywords: Sharp objects, injury, nursing students, clinical practice