Accidental exposures with potentially contaminated biological material involving nursing students of the final year
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5216/ree.v13i4.9985Keywords:
Students, Nursing, Occupational Exposure, Nursing.Abstract
Health professionals and students are exposed to different risks in the services of health, among which the biological risk stands out as one of the most frequent and preoccupying ones. This descriptive study with a quantitative approach was carried out at a public university in the interior of São Paulo state and aimed to identify the occurrence and to describe the characteristics of occupational exposures involving potentially contaminated biological material among nursing students. Data were gotten through individual interview and all the ethical aspects were considered. Among the 74 students who were interviewed between February and July 2007, 30 reported accidental exposure to potentially contaminated biological material. Twenty-four (80.0%) of them mentioned cutaneous exposure, 5 (16.7%) percutaneous and 1 (3.3%) exposure of mucous tissue. It was concluded that the most frequent type of accidental exposure involving potentially contaminated biological material in this study was cutaneous exposure. Many of these exposures could have been avoided by the use of individual protection equipment.
Descriptors: Students, Nursing; Occupational Exposure; Nursing.
