Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Biomedical Waste among Paramedical Workers

Autor: N Nirupama, Kasturwar Nb, Mohd Shafee
Rok vydání: 2009
Předmět:
Zdroj: Indian Journal of Community Medicine : Official Publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine
Indian Journal of Community Medicine, Vol 35, Iss 2, Pp 369-370 (2010)
ISSN: 1998-3581
Popis: Sir, “Biomedical waste (management and handling) rules 1998” apply to all those who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose or handle biomedical waste and also to every institution that generates biomedical waste. This study was done to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of hospital staff regarding biomedical waste management. Permission from head of the institution and clearance from Ethics Committee were obtained. Karimnagar town (Andhra Pradesh) has a population of 5.2 lacs. It has 267 private nursing homes and clinics offering health services to the community. Out of 267 private nursing homes and clinics, 47 were selected by systematic random sampling. A total of 500 study subjects were selected from these hospitals and informed consent was obtained from them. The data were collected by one to one interview using pre-tested pre-designed proforma. The owner of three hospitals denied permission and five study subjects rejected to participate. This hospital-based cross-sectional study was performed from March to September 2009 in Karimnagar town. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-Square Test and percentage. Out of 500 study subjects, 201 (40.2%) were males and 299 (59.8%) were females; 237 (47.4%) were nurses, 132 (26.4%) were lab technicians and 131 (26.2%) were housekeeping staff. Totally 266 (53.2%) study subjects knew about BMW correctly, of which 138 (51.8%) were nurses, 114 (42.85%) were technicians and 14 (5.26%) were housekeepers. Only 8 (1.6%) study subjects knew about categories of BMW of which 5 (62.5%) were technicians. Total 353 (70.6%) study subjects were having idea about segregation of BMW. Only 72 (14.4%) subjects had knowledge about various methods of disposal of BMW. Majority of the study subjects i.e. 479 (95.8%) had knowledge about various health problems caused by BMW, of which 234 (48.8%) were nurses. The attitude of the study subjects toward separation of infectious and non-infectious waste, proper disposal and implementation of rules was positive i.e. 496 (99.2%), 494 (98.8%) and 492 (98.4%), respectively. Only 278 (55.6) study subjects committed that they will cooperate in BMW management. The nurses had a better attitude toward separation of wastes 236 (99.5%), proper disposal 234 (98.7%), implementation of rules 233 (98.3%) and cooperation in programs 149 (62.8%). The attitude of technicians and housekeeping staff was found to be almost similar. Of the 482 (96.4%) study subjects who minimized waste, 227 (47%) were nurses, 129 (26.76%) were technicians and 126 (26.14%) were housekeepers. Totally 335 (67%) study subjects segregated BMW, of which majority were nurses, 169 (50.44%). Of the 297 (59.4%) subjects who collected waste into colour coded bags, 150 (50.5%) were nurses. Segregation and separation of plastic waste was done better by the nurses i.e. 169 (50.4%) of 335 (67%) and 56 (11.2%) of 95 (58.9%), respectively. None of the subjects disinfected the waste before disposal. Totally 490 (98%) subjects were sending BMW to private agency for disposal and treatment. In this study, nurses had a statistically significantly better knowledge than the technical and housekeeping staff (P
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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