Knowledge, Attitude and Practices about Biomedical Waste Management among Healthcare Personnel at Healthcare Facilities of Bhavnagar District, Gujarat - A Cross-sectional Study
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Keywords
Biomedical waste, health care personnel, knowledge, attitude, practice
Abstract
Background: The waste generated in the hospital and improper handling of waste has significant health impact not only on the healthcare workers but also the risk of water, air & soil pollution thereby adversely affecting the environment and community at large. Bio medical waste (BMW) collection and proper disposal has become a significant concern for both the medical and general community.
Objectives: Assessing knowledge, attitude and practices of health care personnel regarding biomedical waste management.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Study participants included- doctors, staff nurses, laboratory technicians, pharmacists and sanitary staffs who were dealing with BMW of various PHCs & CHCs of the district. The study included 33 doctors, 33 staff nurses, 33 laboratory technicians, 33 pharmacists and 33 sanitary staffs. So total 165 study participants were interviewed in the study. The study was conducted by using pretested, semi-structured proforma. The data was tabulated and interpretation was done by using percentages through Epi Info 7 software.
Results: Doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians have better knowledge than sanitary staff regarding biomedical waste management. Practices regarding color coding and waste segregation at source was found to be better among nurses and laboratory staff as compared to doctors. Only 38.8% study participants had received training for bio medical waste management. There was significant association between practice of waste segregation and training of study participants.
Conclusion: Health care personnel had good knowledge and attitude about BMW management. Periodic training of health care personnel on BMW management needs to be emphasized to have a significant impact on BMW disposal and practices
References
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Paras R Mehta
Background: The waste generated in the hospital and improper handling of waste has significant health impact not only on the healthcare workers but also the risk of water, air & soil pollution thereby adversely affecting the environment and community at large. Bio medical waste (BMW) collection and proper disposal has become a significant concern for both the medical and general community.
Objectives: Assessing knowledge, attitude and practices of health care personnel regarding biomedical waste management.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Study participants included- doctors, staff nurses, laboratory technicians, pharmacists and sanitary staffs who were dealing with BMW of various PHCs & CHCs of the district. The study included 33 doctors, 33 staff nurses, 33 laboratory technicians, 33 pharmacists and 33 sanitary staffs. So total 165 study participants were interviewed in the study. The study was conducted by using pretested, semi-structured proforma. The data was tabulated and interpretation was done by using percentages through Epi Info 7 software.
Results: Doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians have better knowledge than sanitary staff regarding biomedical waste management. Practices regarding color coding and waste segregation at source was found to be better among nurses and laboratory staff as compared to doctors. Only 38.8% study participants had received training for bio medical waste management. There was significant association between practice of waste segregation and training of study participants.
Conclusion: Health care personnel had good knowledge and attitude about BMW management. Periodic training of health care personnel on BMW management needs to be emphasized to have a significant impact on BMW disposal and practices
Harshad M Patel
Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Surat
Mohnish Tundia
Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, GMERS Medical College, Porbandar
Mihir Rupani
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine,Government Medical College,Bhavnagar