Pakistan Journal of Medical Research (Feb 2020)
Healthcare Waste Management: Current Knowledge, Attitude and Practices “A Study at Secondary and Tertiary Care Hospitals”
Abstract
Background: In developing countries like Pakistan, Biomedical waste management is still considered as one of the public health challenge to control hazardous infections. Specific knowledge and awareness on proper disposal of hospital waste is required among the hospital administrators, specialists, doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and other support staff. For infection control and other safety measures, hospital waste management requires segregation, collection and proper disposal of biomedical waste from the medical facility to the disposal site. Objective: The main purpose of the study was to know about the knowledge, attitude and practices of secondary and tertiary care hospital staff regarding biomedical waste management. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected through self-structured questionnaires from twin city hospitals. Results: Most of the respondents were not confident about the knowledge of hospital waste and 61 (61%) claimed that all hospital waste were hazardous. Majority of the respondents 83 (83%) were of the opinion that their knowledge on the subject was not sufficient enough. It was also found through the study that only 26 (26%) had training and majority of the respondents 74 (74%) had never attended any training or educational seminar for biomedical waste management. There was a greater responsiveness about the attitude of waste management among the medical staff, however 61 (61%) respondents said that it’s the responsibility of administration. Practices were good among nurses and sanitary workers as compared to other staff. Conclusion: The standard of knowledge, attitude and practices in this study are far below the considerable level acceptable to assure infection safety in patients and healthcare workers. There is a need to develop a continuous educational training/awareness programs regarding safe handling and disposal of hospital waste.
