Knowledge regarding Needle Stick Injury among Nursing Students of Selected Nursing Colleges in Pokhara

Introduction: Medical, paramedical and all health workers including nursing students are at high risk to exposed blood borne infection through sharp injuries. Worldwide prevalence of NSI in health workers ranges from (13 to 62) % and among nursing students was (12-85) %. Most incidents occurred during drug administration, drug preparation, recapping and carrying syringes. (Write or scenario or consequences of needle stick injury than definition in this portion) in the objectives of this study we to assess knowledge regarding needle stick injury among nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used among 141 nursing students of School of Health and Allied Sciences, Pokhara University and Gandaki Medical College. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used for the data collection. Data was collected by using a semi-structured self- administered questionnaire after getting ethical approval from institutional review committee (IRC) of Pokhara University. The written informed consent was obtained from all the participants. Data was coded and entered in Epi Data 3.1. and analyzed with statistical package for statistical software (SPSS) (use full form at first) version 23. Data was analyzed by using mean, frequency, standard deviation and chi-square test. Results: The study found that nearly half of the respondents had history of needle stick injury. The mean score of respondent was 1.1064 ± 0.33171. Almost all of the respondents (90.10%) had adequate knowledge and 9.20 percent had moderately adequate knowledge regarding needle stick injury. There was a significant association of level of knowledge on NSI with father’s occupation (p=0.050) and mother’s occupation (p=0.018). Conclusions: The study concluded that almost all respondents had adequate level of knowledge regarding needle stick injuries (NSI) among nursing students. There was a significant association of level of knowledge on NSI with respondent’s father’s and mother’s employment. Efforts should be made to reduce the incidence of needlestick injuries (NSIs) by providing healthcare workers with periodic training, addressing emotional well-being in the workplace, and ensuring the availability of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).