Biomedical Waste Management at Health Care Facilities in Chikkaballapur District: A Situational Analysis

Abstract

Background: It has been almost two decades since the implementation of biomedical waste management (BMWM) rules in India, but most Indian hospitals are yet to achieve the desired standards for BMWM practices. Hence, we intended to study the status of BMWM in healthcare facilities(HCFs) of Chikkaballapura district. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Chikkaballapura district among all 67 HCFs i.e. 46 HCFs in the private sector and 21 HCFs in the government sector. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect information on micro level process of healthcare waste management. Results: Segregation practices were not followed as per BMWM Rules. In private HCFs, segregation efficiency score was very poor in 23(50%) out of 46 HCFs, poor in 21(45.6%) out of 46 HCFs, and satisfactory in only 3(6.5%) out of 46 HCFs. In government HCFs, segregation efficiency score was very poor in 5(23.8%) out of 21 HCFs, poor in 12(57.1%) out of 21 HCFs, and satisfactory in only 4(19.0%) out of 21 HCFs. Conclusion: The micro-level BMWM process at the HCF under the private and government sector was found to be very poor especially the segregation practices.