Knowledge, attitude and practice study on bio-medical waste management among interns in a tertiary care hospital in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu

Authors

  • Mohan Kumar P. Department of Community Medicine, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20193454

Keywords:

Waste disposal, Colour coding, Incineration, Hepatitis

Abstract

Background: All the wastes which are generated by the hospital are collectively called as health care waste. The medical interns exposed to various health hazards while working in the hospital during their training period. The study was done with the aim to assess the knowledge and awareness regarding various aspects of biomedical waste management amongst interns in a tertiary care hospital, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study carried out among 94 interns who had cleared the final MBBS exams and 81 interns who participated in the study after giving informed consent. A pretested, self-administered questionnaire on knowledge and awareness of bio-medical waste management policy and practice were given to the interns. Statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Excel.

Results: Around 63% interns knew the correct definition of biomedical waste. 24.6% interns were aware that authorization is required for biomedical waste management by Central Pollution Control board. Only 22.2% of the interns had undergone the training programme and 64.1% were keen to attend training program for biomedical waste management. 88.8% knew about sources of generation of BMW and 96% had knowledge of bio-hazard symbol. 72.5% had knowledge of segregation of waste but none had knowledge of correct colour coding. 91.3% said that record maintenance was essential for biomedical waste management. 96.2% agreed that BMW is teamwork.

Conclusions: It is hour of need for rigorous training, IEC program for all the medical interns to make them aware of the various health hazards associated with biomedical waste products. 

References

Safe management of waste from health care activities. Geneva: WHO; 1999.

Central pollution control board. Environmental standard and guidelines for management of hospital waste. New Delhi: CPCB, Ministry of Environment and Forest; 1996.

Kanchi P. Knowledge, attitude, practice, regarding hospital waste management among nurses and interns of tertiary care hospitals of Navi Mumbai. SJAMS. 2017:5(2):526-30.

WHO. Factsheets: health care waste, 2018. Available at https://www.who.int/water_ sanitation_ health/publications/wastemanag/en/. Accessed 28 February 2019.

Bio-medical waste management an orientation educational programme on bio medical waste and waste management. 2007;3: 4.

Mathur V, Dwivedi S, Hassan MA Misra RP. Knowledge, attitude and practices about Bio Medical waste management among healthcare personnel: a cross sectional study. Indian J Community Med. 2011;36(2):143-5.

Acharya A, Khandekar J, Priyanka, Bachani D. Assessment of Knowledge and Practices regarding Injection Safety and Related Biomedical Waste Management amongst Interns in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital, Delhi. Int Scholarly Res Notices. 2014: 670861.

Madhavi KVP, Reddy BC, Ravikumar BP. Awareness regarding Biomedical waste management among interns in a tertiary health care hospital, Khammam. J Evol Med Dental Sci. 2013;22(2):5360-5.

Basu M, Das P, Pal R. Assessment of future physicians on biomedical waste management in a tertiary care hospital of West Bengal. J Natural Sci Biol Med. 2012;3(1):38-42.

Deo D, Tak SR, Munde SS. A study of knowledge regarding biomedical waste management among employees of a tertiary care hospital in a rural area. J Indian Soc Hosp Waste Management. 2006:5:12-6.

Kaur DC, Pandey A, Tekwani D, Bedekar M, Pai M, Agarwal M. Awareness of Bio medical Waste management among health care workers in rural area. Indian J Basic Applied Med Res. 2015;4(4);351-7.

Downloads

Published

2019-07-26

How to Cite

P., M. K. (2019). Knowledge, attitude and practice study on bio-medical waste management among interns in a tertiary care hospital in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 6(8), 3354–3357. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20193454

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles