Аннотация
Needle-stick injuries remain one of the most significant occupational hazards for nursing students during clinical practice, increasing the risk of blood-borne infections. Despite existing preventive measures, gaps in practical skills and incident reporting culture persist worldwide.The aimof the study: To assess the level of knowledge and practice among nursing students of medical educational institutions in the city of Karaganda regarding needlestick injuries.Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 247 nursing students from medical educational institutions in Karaganda.Data were collected using an adapted questionnaire in Kazakh and Russian languages. Descriptive statistics were applied to calculate absolute and relative frequencies, proportions, and percentages.To test hypotheses for statistical significance of differences between two independent samples, the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used.Results. Most students (99.6%) reported being informed about safety rules; 7.3% had experienced needle-stick injuries, mainly during injections and waste disposal. Despite a high level of knowledge (52.6%), practical gaps persisted: nearly half considered needle recapping acceptable, 23.9% were unfamiliar with the full post-exposure protocol, and 91.5% did not report incidents.However, only 76.1% of students know the procedure for dealing with an accidental needlestick injury and can apply it in practice. This means that almost a quarter of future professionals lack sufficient confidence in their actions in an emergency. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference between groups (U = 401.5, Z = –2.38, p = 0.017), indicating a higher adherence to safety measures among undergraduate students.Conclusion. Nursing students demonstrate adequate theoretical knowledge but show deficiencies in practical skills and reporting culture. Although the prevalence of needle-stick injurieswas lower compared to international data, unsafe practices remain a pressing issue.Keywords:needle-stick injury, nursing, infection safety, risks.