Factors associated with the current state of biomedical waste management knowledge, attitude, and practices among the healthcare professionals at a tertiary level hospital in Cumilla, Bangladesh

Abstract

Aside from saving lives and restoring health, healthcare operations can result in the generation of hazardous biomedical wastes (BMW) that are harmful to humans and to the environment. The generation and disposal of BMW has emerged as a global issue. BMW management success is highly reliant on the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of healthcare individuals, and there is a scarcity of such works in the Bangladesh setting. This study was conducted to assess the KAP as well as the associated factors influencing knowledge on BMW management among hospital health care professionals (HCPs) in Cumilla, Bangladesh. This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 374 responses were collected for this study between January and April of 2019. The questionnaire was divided into four sections: socio-demographic data, BMW management knowledge and attitude, as well as an observational questionnaire evaluating HCPs' practice on BMW management. Among the 374 respondents, 168 HCPs used to have satisfactory knowledge with an overall mean score of 6.8±1.2. A high mean score (7.3 ± 1.4) was obtained by the doctors followed by the nurses (6.7 ± 1.6). The attitude was also positive, but the practice was found to be inadequate. A statistically significant (<i>p<0.05</i>) relationship was discovered between knowledge level and educational qualification, gender, work experience. The importance of educating and training all HCPs on proper BMW management should be emphasized.