DOI: 10.5061/dryad.qz612jmtw
title: Occupational exposure to needlestick injuries and hepatitis B vaccination coverage among medicine and dentistry students

description: Needlestick injuries (NSIs) pose significant occupational hazards for
 healthcare workers and students, increasing the risk of hepatitis B virus
 (HBV) transmission. Medicine and dentistry students are particularly
 vulnerable due to limited clinical experience. This study assessed the
 prevalence of NSIs and the correlation with HBV vaccination coverage among
 medicine and dentistry students in Ghana. This was a cross-sectional study
 conducted among 264 clinical-year (Years 4 - 6) medicine and dentistry
 students of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from
 February to March 2023. Data on NSIs, HBV vaccination status, and
 associated factors were collected by means of questionnaire administration
 and analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 26.0 and GraphPad Prism 8.0. All
 statistical results obtained were considered significant at p &lt;
 0.05. The prevalence of NSIs was 27.7%, with a higher prevalence among
 dentistry students. HBV vaccination coverage (≥1 dose) was 83.0%, however,
 only 50.7% of these vaccinated participants had completed their
 vaccination (≥3 doses). About 17% had never received a single dose, with
 over half (51.1%) stating “no specific reason” for non-vaccination. Higher
 levels of study (p = 0.033) and extended clinical exposure (P = 0.040)
 were associated with an increased risk of NSIs. Advancing age (p = 0.005),
 level of study (p &lt; 0.001), and program of study (p = 0.045) were
 significantly associated with vaccination status among the study
 participants. The high prevalence of NSIs alongside suboptimal
 HBV vaccination coverage highlights a critical gap in infection control.
 Medical and dental schools should implement mandatory HBV vaccination and
 enhance training on universal precautions to mitigate NSI risks.
description: <strong>Study Design, Population, and
 Setting</strong> This was a cross-sectional
 study conducted among students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Human
 Biology (Medicine) (MBChB) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) at Kwame
 Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana, from February
 to March 2023. Following three years of pre-clinical studies (covering
 pathology, anatomy, pharmacology, microbiology, etc.), these students had
 commenced their three-year clinical training (Year 4 - 6) at Komfo Anokye
 Teaching Hospital (KATH) to receive training in general surgery,
 paediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, etc. KATH
 is situated in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, and it is the second largest
 hospital in Ghana and the only tertiary health institution in the region
 with a 1,200-bed capacity. The hospital is involved in the training of
 medical students, junior doctors, and nurses and provides well-equipped
 medical and laboratory facilities [21].
 <strong>Sample Size Calculation</strong>
 The sample size was determined to be 256 using the Raosoft sample
 size calculator at a 95% confidence level, 5% margin of error, and a
 response distribution of 50% [22]. To account for potential non-responses
 and ensure robust subgroup analyses, we increased the final sample size to
 264, ensuring statistical reliability.
 <strong>Ethics approval and consent to
 participate</strong> Approval for this study was
 obtained from the Committee of Human Research, Publication, and Ethics
 (CHRPE) of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University
 of Science and Technology (KNUST). This was part of a bigger study with
 reference number: CHRPE/AP 331/23. Written informed consent was obtained
 from all the participants before their recruitment into the study after
 the objectives and procedures of the study had been explained to them.
 Participants were assured of anonymity, confidentiality, and the right to
 decline participation at any point within the survey without
 penalty. <strong>Inclusion
 Criteria</strong> Students reading medicine or
 dental surgery programs in Year 4, Year 5, or Year 6 who consented to
 participate in the study were included.
 <strong>Exclusion Criteria</strong>
 Students reading medicine or dental surgery programs in Year 1,
 Year 2, or Year 3 were excluded from the study. Students who were
 unavailable during the data collection phase of the study could not
 participate. <strong>Data Collection and
 Sampling Procedure</strong> Data for this study
 were collected using a structured, investigator-designed questionnaire
 administered. The questionnaire was developed, piloted, and validated for
 this study. The survey consisted of multiple sections assessing
 participants’ demographic characteristics, history of needlestick injuries
 (NSIs), hepatitis B vaccination status, and associated risk
 factors. We ensured voluntary participation,
 confidentiality measures, and the right to withdraw at any time.
 Participants could only proceed with the survey after providing
 consent. The questionnaire was designed to be
 anonymous, with no personally identifiable information collected to
 maintain confidentiality. Data collection was conducted over a period of
 two months, from February to March 2023.
description: # Occupational exposure to needlestick injuries and hepatitis B
 vaccination coverage among medicine and dentistry students Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.qz612jmtw](10.5061/dryad.qz612jmtw) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This was a cross-sectional study conducted among
 264 clinical-year (Years 4 - 6) medicine and dentistry students of Kwame
 Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from February to March 2023.
 Data on needlestick injuries (NSIs), HBV vaccination status, and
 associated factors were collected by means of questionnaire administration
 and entered into Excel ### Files and variables #### File:
 CS_4_DATASET.xlsx **Description:**  ##### Variables School: KNUST (Kwame
 Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Needlestick injury: any
 participant who reported current or past incidence of needlestick injury
 Vaccination status: any participant who reported having ever taken the
 hepatitis B vaccine shot (whether or not completed the primary
 vaccination) was considered vaccinated Ethnicity: various tribes in Ghana
 where the study participants are associated. Religion: this is religious
 affiliations of the study participants recruited Marital status: This is
 to know whether or not participant is married. This has been anonymised.
 Program of study: This is to tell whether the study participant belongs to
 Dentistry or Medicine. This has been anonymised. Name of school: This
 tells the school where the participant belongs. This has been anonymised.
 Country of origin: This tells which country the participant comes from. ##
 Code/software Microsoft Excel 2016 ## Access information Other publicly
 accessible locations of the data: * n/a Data was derived from the
 following sources: * Directly from the study participants ## Human
 subjects data Informed consent were obtained from study participants. Also
 codes were used to de-identify participants, ensuring that they are
 properly anonymized and prepared under applicable legal and ethical
 guidelines