Objective: Needlestick and sharps injuries are the most important risk factors for healthcare professionals and are the most common cause of occupational accidents. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of sociodemographic features, working conditions and excessive daytime sleepiness on needlestick and sharps injuries in intern and assistant physicians in a medical school.

Material and Method: The population of the cross- sectional study consisted of 174 assistants and intern physicians studying at a medical school. All intern and assistant physicians all participated in the study. The questionnaire gathered sociodemographic characteristics, working conditions, excessive daytime sleepiness and needlestick and sharps injurıes-related circumstances. The questionnaire was performed by face-to-face method between 15 july and 30 August 2019 and each questionnaire took for 15-20 min. Chi-square test analysis were used for data analysis, and p<0.05 was accepted statistically significant.

Results: 46.6% of the respondents had a needlestick and sharps injuries in the past year and 49.4% were injured at night work. 95.1% of the physicians were injured by needlestick and 11% reported the situation to the employee health unit. In 43.7% of intern and assistant physicians there is excessive daytime sleepiness during the day. The incidence of injuries among the participants with male gender (p=0.039), intern physicians (p<0.001) and excessive daytime sleepiness (p=0.042) was found to be significantly higher than the physicians in other groups. The frequency of needlestick and sharps injuries was significantly higher among the resident physicians who participated in the study compared to the physicians in the surgical branches (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The frequency of injuries and excessive sleepiness during the daytime were found to be high among the assistants and intern physicians. In addition, some sociodemographic features, some working conditions and excessive daytime sleepiness negatively affect the needlestick and sharps injuries. Training, counseling and treatment support should be provided to assistants and intern physicians regarding protection from injury and coping with sleep disorders.

Assistant physician Intern physician Excessive daytime sleepiness The needlestick and sharps injuries