Abstract
Background: Biomedical waste (BMW) is waste generated during diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities. BMW is hazardous and can be injurious to humans or animals and deleterious to environment. Effective management of BMW is a legal as well as a social responsibility. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and practice regarding hospital waste management among healthcare providers of a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the Departments of General Medicine, Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Radiotherapy among 198 different hospital staff within 3 months with the help of a predesigned and pretested interview schedule to elicit the knowledge of BMW management. An observatory checklist is used to find out practices regarding BMW management prevailing in the above wards and staff of the hospital. Results: Majority (60.6%) of the study population belonged to the age group of 21-30 years. About one-third of the total study population were junior doctors and nurses. 35.8% worked for 1 year in the hospital, and 29.8% worked within 2-5 years. All the participants had heard about BMW management, but only 1.5% had formal training. 6.6% knew about five-color coding used for segregation of waste with red, black, yellow, blue bags and white puncture proof container. 31.3% knew correct disposal of sharps. All the participants knew about the use of personal protective measures while handling BMW and used in most of the time. 70.2% of respondents knew the use of gloves and mask together. In 33.3% of observation, it was seen that syringes were reused for the same patient. Four colored bins were used most of the time in the above-studied wards. Conclusion and Recommendation: The above study revealed certain paucity of knowledge among the healthcare providers in the field of BMW management which adversely affected their practice. There should be regular comprehensive training programs regarding BMW management for all level of workers and strict implementation of them.
Highlights
Part 2 consists of questions about knowledge on Biomedical waste (BMW), its management, segregation, color coding, categories of BMWs, solution used for disinfection, diseases that can spread from BMWs, personal protective measures (PPM) to be used, permanent disposal methods, etc
1% of the subjects were below the age of 20 years, 35.8% of the subjects were engaged in housekeeping
A descriptive, hospital‐based study was conducted among 198 healthcare providers including junior doctors, nurses, technicians, and waste handlers of a teaching institution to find out the knowledge and practice regarding BMW and its management
Summary
Biomedical waste (BMW) is a broader term applied to “any waste that is generated during diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, or in the research activities pertaining to or in the production or testing of biological and includes ten categories mentioned in Schedule I of the Government of India’s BMW (management and handling) rules 1998.”[1]. Since the last three decades, unregulated handling of BMW is emerging as a serious threat to human health and safety, and many researchers have documented this as a priority area.[2,3]
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