Knowledge, Attitude And Practices of Healthcare Workers (HCWs) Regarding Biomedical Waste (BMW) Management: A Multispeciality Hospital Based CrossSectional Study In Eastern India

Background: The evolving health care system of India, in its goal of solving health issues and minimizing possible health risks, has unavoidably created waste, which itself may be harmful for health. Inefficient and inadequate knowledge of managing health care waste may have detrimental effects on health and environment. Aim and Objectives: To asses level of Knowledge, Attitude, Practices (KAP) about Biomedical Waste (BMW) management among Health Care Workers (HCWs) with an endeavor to improve the standards and protect the health of HCWs and the environment. Methodology: A Hospital- based cross sectional descriptive study was carried out at one of the Multispecialty Hospital in Eastern India. A total of 80 HCWs who were available at the time of study were included and the data were collected by means of 'personal interview technique' by using a pre-designed semi-structured questionnaire in Hindi (local language). The relevant data was collected, compiled and analyzed using SPSS 17.0 version. Results: Assessment of KAP with pre-decided scoring system showed, 17.5 % had excellent knowledge, 70% with good to average and 12.5% had poor knowledge with respect to BMW management. Knowledge status was not significantly associated with any of the sociodemographic characteristics. When asked about needle stick injuries, 88% felt that needle stick injury was a concern to them and 86% of them were well aware about the consequences of needle-stick injuries. Conclusion: Although the awareness level was high with various aspects of BMW management among HCWs compared to other studies, but still there exists scope for more improvement. Regular awareness capsule with proper BMW committee monitoring is the need of the hour. All measures to sensitize the HCWs against needle stick injuries including both pre and post incident measures need to be taken.