Effects of a Finger Guard while Opening the Glass Ampoule by Nursing Students

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of a finger guard developed to prevent sharp injuries in nursing students.METHODS: This study was an equivalent control group posttest design. Seventy nursing students were randomly allocated to either the experimental group (n=35) or the control group (n=35). The finger guard was used whileopening the glass ampoule in the experimental group. The outcome variables such as sharp injuries, anxiety and user satisfaction were measured.RESULTS: Sharp injuries were 0 in the experimental group and 2 in the control group (p=.160). Anxiety in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group (p < .001). User satisfaction was 4.33 score in the range from 1 to 5, the highest item was the weight (4.63), followed by effectiveness (4.51).CONCLUSION: Using a protective device while opening the glass ampoule was observed to be effective in reducing anxiety among the nursing students, and exhibited protection of skin.