Attitudes to biomedical waste management

Context: Awareness of safe waste management practices among the health care community is crucial. Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of nurses and paramedical staff towards biomedical waste management. Materials and methods: A total of 819 respondents were interviewed in ratio of: nurses (514); operating theatre (OT) technicians (63); laboratory technicians (76); and housekeeping staff (166). The tool used was a semi-structured questionnaire with questions on awareness and attitude towards biomedical waste management. Statistical analysis: SPSS version 11.5 was used, Chi-square test was carried out, and p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The respondents' awareness on waste management being conducted in the hospital was 100%. This response was similar in terms of awareness of facilities present in hospital for segregation and removal of waste, but only 88% of housekeeping staff knew about it, compared with 100% in the other three groups. When asked whether safe management of health care waste is an extra burden on their usual work, 76% of the laboratory staff responded positively, followed by 71% of OT staff, 67% of housekeeping staff and 47% of nurses. The responses were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: Nursing professionals had an edge over the other staff regarding awareness of waste management, which can be attributed to their accountability and commitment in ward management. The OT technicians, laboratory and housekeeping staff had comparatively less understanding of the subject, but had a more positive attitude.