Determination of the relationship between locus of control and needlestick-sharp object injuries among nursing students

The aim of the study is to discuss the relation between sharp object injuries of nursing students and their internal or external control focus. This research in sectional design is applied to second, third and fourth grade undergraduate students whom are in nursery program in public universities at Ankara. Research data was gathered from the Descriptive Information Form and Locus of Control Scale, which is developed by the researchers. 83% of the students who participated in the study are woman, 38% of them are second grade students. 80,5% of the students are vaccinated against Hepatitis B, 96,4% received occupational health safety training. 27,5% of the students have experienced sharp object injuries, 43.5% of these have experienced it more than once. It has been reported that the clinics where these injuries most occur are surgery (%38,1) and internal diseases (%47,2), half of the injuries occur while medicine preparation. After experiencing sharp object injury, the students mostly wash the injured area with soap and water (85.6%) and report the case to the clinic nurse (55,8%). It has been detected that female students experience injuries more than male students (respectively 23.1% and 4.4%), there is a meaningful correlation between sharp object injuries and locus of control, and that the injured students have more external locus of control (p<0.05). The obtained result is; nursing students, especially the ones with external control focus, informative and self-confidence boosting approaches are important to make them gain internal control.