Original Research Paper

Biomedical Waste Management: A Study On Assessment Of Knowledge, Attitude And Practices Among Anaesthesiologists

Abstract :

Background: It is crucial for anaesthesiologists to know the hazards of biomedical waste [BMW] and its management from the initial generation to segregation and storage at site followed by disinfection and its final disposal. The present cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the levels of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices with respect to biomedical waste management (BMWM) amongst students and consultants in anaesthesiology working in government, corporate, private hospitals and own setups. Method: The study tool consisting of a questionnaire of 21 questions divided into 6, 7 and 9 questions on Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices respectively was distributed to 300 participents. Amongst them total respondents were 275 and 17 incompletely filled questionaires were excluded from the study. Thus, the analyses represents the answers of 258 respondents that represent consultants and post graduate students of anaesthesiology. Results: Majority (>50%) had PG degree (MD/DNB), working as consultants (>80%) with >10 years experience. Amongst them 44% were working in Govt. set-up, 23% in Private, 22% in Corporate and 11% in own setup. Overall, knowledge, attitude and practice score amongst participants was 48.31%, 43.57% and 62.32% respectively. For knowledge, significantly higher (49.16%) with correct responses was observed for consultants working in Govt. setting. For attitude, significantly lower percentage with correct responses was observed for consultants working in Private (25.73%) and Own setting (13.69%). For practices, highest (64.97%) correct responses was observed for participents working in Corporate setup and >50% students follow safe BMWM practices. Overall combined KAP score of participants regarding BMWM was 50.89%, amongst which participants in Govt Setup performed better with highest number of correct responses. Conclusion: Overall knowledge was poor; attitude was unsatisfactory but practices towards BMW amongst anaesthesiologists was satisfactory. Thus, there is need to organise lectures/CME/training sessions in hospitals to bring more awareness on BMWM which will help in competent disposal of biomedical waste.

Cite This Article :

Article :