Investigating the incidence and type of sharps injuries within the nursing student population in the UK

Abstract

Aims: To identify the incidence and type of sharps injuries within a UK nursing student population. Background: Evidence suggests that nursing students sustain sharps injuries across the world, but there is a lack of data from the UK. Design: Questionnaire survey. Methods: A survey was administered to a volunteer sample of nursing students (n=1015) in a university, following which the survey was distributed to nursing students nationwide using snowball sampling via social media. Datasets from 1015 nursing students were available for analysis. Results: Sharps injuries were most likely to occur with glass ampoules, when preparing injections and to occur in the second year of the programme. Contributing factors to sharps injury were identified, with inexperience being the primary cause. Some nursing students reported psychological impacts after sustaining the sharps injury. Conclusion: Sharps injuries are common among nursing students, and can have many psychological consequences for an individual.