RESUMEN
The study aims to determine knowledge regarding biomedical waste management policy, attitude & practice of BMWmanagement, prevalence of needle-stick injury and appropriate response to needle stick injury among the doctors working atAdesh Medical College and Hospital, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire with closed-endedquestions. The questionnaire was distributed to all doctors working in the college. The resulting answers were graded and thepercentages for each question was obtained and analyzed. The results showed that the level of knowledge and awareness ofbiomedical waste generation, associated hazards, legislations and management practices among health care personnel is good.However, it was surprising that this is not getting translated to action, especially when their personal well-being is concerned. Itwas found that none of respondents had an excellent level of knowledge on responding appropriately to needle stick injury andonly 17.9% respondents had good knowledge about needle stick injury and its management while 82.1% respondents had anaverage knowledge. It may be concluded that the knowledge about BMW among doctors is good but there are poor levels ofknowledge and awareness about needle stick injury and its management. Regular monitoring and training are required at alllevels.
RESUMEN
Health care institutions are generating large amount of Bio-Medical Waste (BMW), which needs to be properly segregated and treated. With this concern, a questionnaire based cross-sectional study was done to determine the current status of awareness and practices regarding BMW Management (BMWM) and areas of deficit amongst the HCWs in a tertiary care teaching hospital in New Delhi, India. The correct responses were graded as satisfactory (more than 80%), intermediate (50–80%) and unsatisfactory (less than 50%). Some major areas of deficit found were about knowledge regarding number of BMW categories (17%), mercury waste disposal (37.56%) and definition of BMW (47%).
RESUMEN
Background & objectives: A legislative framework for bio-medical waste management (BMWM) was established in the country more than a decade ago. Though some studies have identified gaps at local levels, no systematic effort was done to collect data from different parts of the country. The objective of this nationwide study was to document existing resources, infrastructure and practices related to BMWM across the study districts. Methods: The study was conducted in 25 districts spread over 20 States of India including urban and rural areas. Primary (n=388), secondary (n=25) and tertiary care (n=24) health facilities from public (n=238) and private (n=199) sector were assessed and scored for the state of BMWM through 9 items representing system capacity, availability of resources and processes in place. Health facilities were assigned into one of the three categories (Red, Yellow and Green) based on the cumulative median scores. Results: Around 82 per cent of primary, 60 per cent of secondary and 54 per cent of tertiary care health facilities were in the ‘RED’ category. Multivariate analysis indicated that charts at the point of waste generation, availability of designated person, appropriate containers and bags, availability of functional needle destroyers, availability of personal protective gears, segregation of waste at point of generation and log book maintenance were independently (OR-between 1.2-1.55; P<0.03 or less) associated with better BMWM system in the health facilities. This was true for both rural-urban and public or private health facilities. Interpretation & conclusions: The study highlighted the urgent need for greater commitments at policy and programme levels for capacity building, and resource investments in BMWM.