A study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding biomedical waste management among health care personnel of C. U. Shah Medical College and Hospital, Surendranagar

Authors

  • Pavan P. Amin Department of PSM, C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar, Gujarat, India
  • Kishor M. Sochaliya Department of PSM, C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar, Gujarat, India
  • Girija P. Kartha Department of PSM, C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar, Gujarat, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183978

Keywords:

Biomedical waste, Health care personnel, Knowledge, Attitude

Abstract

Background: Healthcare generates a large amount of healthcare waste, which is complex to manage because of its variety and potential to create health and safety hazards if improperly handled. Inadequate management of biomedical waste can be associated with risks to healthcare workers, patients, communities and their environment. The aims and objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of health care personnel in C. U. Shah Hospital, Surendranagar regarding Biomedical Waste Management (BMW).

Methods: This hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar from February 2017 to March 2017. The study consisted of 300 Health Care Workers as participants, which included 100 doctors, 100 resident doctors and 100 paramedical staff. The data was collected using a predesigned, semi structured questionnaire containing questions on KAP regarding bio-medical waste management.

Results: The awareness regarding legislation and disposal of BMW as per color coded bags was found in 79% and 85% of the participants respectively. Only 54% of the respondents knew that BMW should not be stored beyond 48 hours and 91.7% participants are agreed that needle stick injury is a major concern. All the participants are following the practice of not recapping the used needle. 75% respondents disposed sharp materials in translucent bag.

Conclusions: Knowledge regarding biomedical waste management among doctors is satisfactory as compared to other health care workers. This has led to the poor practice of biomedical waste handling and management, hence exposing themselves and the public in general to health and environment hazards.

Author Biographies

Pavan P. Amin, Department of PSM, C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar, Gujarat, India

THIRD YEAR RESIDENT

DEPARTMENT OF PSM

Kishor M. Sochaliya, Department of PSM, C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar, Gujarat, India

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

DEPARTMENT OF PSM

Girija P. Kartha, Department of PSM, C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar, Gujarat, India

PROFESSOR AND HEAD

DEPARTMENT OF PSM

References

Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests. Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules. Gazette of India. Part II, Section 3, 2016. Available at: http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/ biomed.html. Accessed on 28 March 2016.

Schaefer ME. Hazardous waste management. Dental Clinics of North America. 1991;35:383-90.

Turnberg WL, Frost F. Survey of occupational exposure of waste industry workers to infectious waste in Washington State. American Journal of Public Health. 1990;80:1262-4.

Palwankar PV, Singh A. Safety and measures for auxiliary staff associated with hospital waste disposal. Indian J Dental Sci. 2012;4:104-6.

Narang RS, Manchanda A, Singh S, Verma N, Padda S. Awareness of biomedical waste management among dental professionals and auxiliary staff in Amritsar, India. Oral Health Dent Manag. 2012;11:162-8.

Ananthachari KR, Divya CV. A study on assessment of knowledge on biomedical waste management among health care workers of Malabar Medical College Teaching Hospital, Calicut, Kerala, India. Int J Community Med Public Health 2016;3(9):2409-13.

Mathur V, Dwivedi S, Hassan M, Misra R. Knowledge, attitude and practices about biomedical waste management among healthcare personnel: A cross-sectional study. Indian J Community Med 2011;36(2):143–5.

Sharma A, Sharma V, Sharma S, Singh P. Awareness of Biomedical Waste Management among Health Care Personnel in Jaipur. Indian J Oral Health Dental Management. 2013;12(1):32-40.

Sehgal RK, Garg R, Dhot PS, Singhal P. A study of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding biomedical waste management among the health-care workers in a multispecialty teaching hospital at Delhi. Int J Med Sci Public Health. 2015;4(11):1540-4.

Akter N, Chowdhury AMR, Kazi NM. Medical Waste Disposal in Dhaka City: An Environmental Evaluation. International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research. 1999.

Radha R. Assessment of existing knowledge, attitude and practices regarding BMW management among HCWs in a tertiary care rural hospital. Int J Health Sci Res. 2012;2(7):14–9.

Basu M, Das P, Pal R. Assessment of future physicians on biomedical waste management in a tertiary care hospital of West Bengal. J Natural Sci Biol Med. 2012;3:38-42.

Joseph L, Paul H, Premkumar J, Rabindranath, Paul R, Michael JS. Biomedical waste management: study on the awareness and practice among healthcare workers in a tertiary teaching hospital. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2015;33(1):129-31.

Downloads

Published

2018-09-24

How to Cite

Amin, P. P., Sochaliya, K. M., & Kartha, G. P. (2018). A study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding biomedical waste management among health care personnel of C. U. Shah Medical College and Hospital, Surendranagar. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 5(10), 4377–4381. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183978

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles