Table 2: Median (Md), Lower Quartile (LQ), and Upper Quartile (UQ) of respondents’ knowledge, attitude, awareness and practice scores, and percentages of respondents’ correct or favourable responses.
| Category | Question | % (proportion) correct or favourable answer |
|---|---|---|
|
Knowledge Possible range 0-6 Score range 2-4 Median (Md) 3 Lower Quartile (LQ) 2 Upper Quartile (UQ) 4 |
What is the serum conversion rate secondary to a needlestick injury from a patient who is positive for HIV? | 32 (48/150) |
| What is the serum conversion rate secondary to a needlestick injury from a patient who is positive for Hepatitis C? | 52 (79/150) | |
| What is the serum conversion rate secondary to a needlestick injury from a patient who is positive for Hepatitis B? | 10 (15/150) | |
| For how long does Hepatitis B immunisation (full course) remain effective? | 52 (79/151) | |
| What would you do if you find a used needle on the floor after you have closed the sharps box? | 85 (129/150) | |
| If you need to separate a needle from a syringe, how do you do it? | 34 (50/148) | |
|
Attitude Possible range 0-4 Score range 2-3 Md 3 LQ 2 UQ 3 |
As a medical student, how concerned are you about contracting a blood borne pathogen through your work? | 89 (135/152) |
| How user friendly is your local hospital's sharps policy and procedures? | 62 (94/102) | |
| Do you think that an incident report should be completed following a needlestick injury with new/unused sharps? | 32 (49/149) | |
| Do you think that an incident report should be completed following a needlestick injury with used sharps? | 97 (147/148) | |
|
Awareness Possible range 0-6 Score range 3-5 Md 4 LQ 2 UQ 5 |
Are you aware of your current hepatitis B status? | 96 (147/150) |
| Does your hospital have a sharps injury prevention program to prevent needlestick and sharps injuries occurring? (E.g. may include Sharps training, Disposal, Management & Follow-up incidents) | 64 (98/146) | |
| Are you aware of your local hospital's sharps policy and procedures? | 12 (19/148) | |
| Is there a designated person/department responsible for responding to sharps related incidents? | 43 (66/151) | |
| Who would you contact first if you were injured by a sharps injury? | 96 (147/152) | |
|
Practice Possible range 0-2 Score range 1-2 Md 1 LQ 1 UQ 2 |
How often do you use sharps containers to dispose of needles? | 89 (136/151) |
| How often do you recap needles? | 44 (68/149) |