Knowledge and attitudes on medical waste management among Belgrade medical and dental students

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. Knowledge and practical skills in medical waste (MW) management are of equal importance for medical and dental doctors. The first comparative study on the knowledge and skills in the field of MW management among Belgrade students was conducted with the goal of examining whether students of medicine and dentistry are equally familiar with this extremely important field. Methods. A cross-sectional study included 558 students of the sixth year of studies (430 medical and 128 dental students) who completed an anonymous semi-structured questionnaire to determine attitudes and knowledge on MW management. Results. The majority of medical and dental students had no training in MW management (79.5% and 74.6%, respectively). Dental students use protective equipment more frequently than medical students (94.5% vs. 42%, p < 0.001). However, full vaccinal protection against hepatitis B is better among medical students compared to dental students (57.7% vs. 39.1%, p < 0.001). Complete knowledge on postexposal prophylaxis is better among medical students compared to dental students (44.5% vs. 13.3%, p < 0.001). However, dental students are more disciplined in reporting injuries (63.1% vs. 52.4%, p = 0.038). The students’ knowledge on primary separation of infectious waste (93% vs. 77.8%, p < 0.001) and used needles (80.3% vs. 70.4%, p = 0.007) is better among dental students compared to medical students’ correct answers. Conclusion. Dental students show better knowledge on MW management and are more disciplined in using personal infection protection compared to medical students. The students support continued training on MW management and investigations on this topic. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 175078]

Keywords

• medical waste
• safety
• education
• medical students
• dental students