What is the perception of biological risk by undergraduate nursing students?

OBJECTIVE to analyze undergraduate nursing students' perception of biological risk and its relationship with their prior practical training. METHOD a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate nursing students enrolled in clinical practice courses in the academic year 2013-2014 at the School of Nursing at the University of Barcelona. VARIABLES sociodemographic variables, employment, training, clinical experience and other variables related to the assessment of perceived biological risk were collected. Both a newly developed tool and the Dimensional Assessment of Risk Perception at the worker level scale (Escala de Evaluación Dimensional del Riesgo Percibido por el Trabajador, EDRP-T) were used. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS descriptive and univariate analysis were used to identify differences between the perception of biological risk of the EDRP-T scale items and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS students without prior practical training had weaker perceptions of biological risk compared to students with prior practical training (p=0.05 and p=0.04, respectively). Weaker perceptions of biological risk were found among students with prior work experience. CONCLUSION practical training and work experience influence the perception of biological risk among nursing students.