MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING INTERVENTION PROGRAM IN ZAGAZIG UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS

Abstract

Introduction: Medical waste poses a substantial health risk to health care professionals, patients, waste workers, and the environment. Proper handling, treatment and disposal of biomedical waste play a vital role in hospital infection control program. The strongest factor influencing the degree of compliance to proper waste management guidelines are education and training. Aim of work: To assess knowledge, attitude and practice of health care workers regarding proper waste management, to estimate frequency of exposure to sharps and to design a specifically tailored hospital-based educational and training program about proper medical waste management. Materials and methods: An interventional study was conducted on 388 health care workers. All workers completed questionnaires to measure socio-demographic and occupational characteristics and to assess the knowledge and attitude of health care workers (HCWs) about proper waste management. A checklist to assess self-protection practice regarding health care waste management was also used. A training program about proper medical waste management was given to all workers and evaluation of the program was done after 3 months. Results: The doctors and nurses have good knowledge and attitude, but average to low practice; auxiliary workers have low to average knowledge, good attitude and bad practice. The educational and training program was effective and had impact of enhance knowledge, attitude and practice. The socio-demographic charactershad minimal effect on the percentage of change of knowledge, attitude and practice among doctors and nurses and with no effect among workers. No correlation was found between knowledge attitude and practice. Conclusion: Our ntervention program was effective and had impact on enhancing knowledge, attitude and practice among the studied group of health care workers.