Assessment of HIV transmission risks in clinical situations in health carestudents from Germany, Lithuania and Namibia

Due to the increasing global HN prevalence, comprehensive knowledge about c linical HIV transmission risks in health care professionals is essential. M ainly medical and nursing students are at risk, because they are working cl ose to infected patients. By using an anonymous questionnaire, the study analysed the assessments of German medical/dental students (n = 182), Lithuanian medical students (n = 176) and Namibian student nurses (n = 135) on the risk of getting HIV infec ted in different clinical situations. It became obvious that the Namibian student nurses overestimated the risk o f HIV transmission in several situations (eg changing dirty linen; physical examination). In comparison, the Lithuanian students showed the most reali stic assessments, while the German students also tended to overestimate the risks of HIV transmission. The results indicate that assessments on the risk of HIV transmission in cl inical situations are influenced by the national prevalence and daily conta cts with HIV patients. Education of health care students should consider th is and focus more on epidemiological aspects and infection control procedur es, to avoid endangering students and patients.