EXPOSURE STATUS TO BLOOD AND BODY FLUIDS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE AMONG NURSING AND MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNICIAN STUDENTS
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: In clinical practice, students are often exposed to blood and body fluids, potentially exposing them to infectious diseases. Assessing exposure status is important to develop appropriate interventions to reduce exposure risks during clinical practice of students. Objectives: To survey the current status of exposure and processing to blood and body fluids during the clinical practice of the students. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 215 nursing and medical laboratory technician students in 3rd and 4th years, using selfcompleted questionnaires to survey the current status of exposure to blood and body fluids during clinical practice. Results: Through a survey of 215 students, 49 (22.8%) had direct contact with blood or body fluids through the eyes, mouth, mucous membranes, or skin. Among 49 students having direct contact with blood or body fluids, 32 cases had direct contact with blood or body fluids with two or more times. The most common procedure leading to exposure when students had direct contact with blood or body fluids was blood withdrawal (30.1%). The rate of students who were proceeded after exposure was 32.7% (n = 16), of which 3 cases had HIV/HBV/HCV infection status determined. Conclusion: The most common risk of exposure was blood withdrawal. The rate of students who proceeded after exposure was still low. It is necessary to find out the cause of this situation to minimize the risk for students during clinical practice.
Keywords
exposure, blood, body fluids, clinical practice
Article Details
References
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