OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES TO BODY FLUIDS AND BEHAVIORS REGARDING THEIR PREVENTION AND POST-EXPOSURE AMONG MEDICAL AND NURSING STUDENTS AT A BRAZILIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Fernanda Ribeiro Fagundes de Souza-Borges, Larissa Araújo Ribeiro, Luiz Carlos Marques de Oliveira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2014
• Subjects: Occupational exposure; Medical students; Nursing students; Needlestick injuries; Sharp injuries; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652014000200012; https://doaj.org/article/7af19c4658ed4b30945c462db3bd5bdc

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the frequencies and characteristics of occupational exposures among medical and nursing students at a Brazilian public university, in addition to their prevention and post-exposure behavior. During the second semester of 2010, a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was completed by 253/320 (79.1%) medical students of the clinical course and 149/200 (74.5%) nursing students who were already performing practical activities. Among medical students, 53 (20.9%) suffered 73 injuries, which mainly occurred while performing extra-curricular activities (32.9%), with cutting and piercing objects (56.2%), in the emergency room (39.7%), and as a result of lack of technical preparation or distraction (54.8%). Among nursing students, 27 (18.1%) suffered 37 injuries, which mainly occurred with hollow needles (67.6%) in the operating room or wards (72.2%), and as a result of lack of technical preparation or distraction (62.1%). Among medical and nursing students, respectively, 96.4% and 48% were dissatisfied with the instructions on previously received exposure prevention; 48% and 18% did not always use personal protective equipment; 67.6% and 16.8% recapped used needles; 49.3% and 35.1% did not bother to find out the source patient's serological results post-exposure; and 1.4% and 18.9% officially reported injuries. In conclusion, this study found high frequencies of exposures among the assessed students, inadequate practices in prevention and post-exposure, and, consequently, the need for training in “standard precautions” to prevent such exposures.