Evaluation of awareness regarding biomedical waste management in institute of ophthalmology, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Despite the statutory provision of Biomedical Waste Management, practice in Indian Hospitals has not achieved the desired standard even after years of enforcement of the law. In view of this, the present study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) on the subject was carried out in a tertiary level teaching hospital. Material and Methods: The hospital under scrutiny for KAP is a 250 bedded western regional M. & J. Institute of Ophthalmology. The study is based on a questionnaire designed to understand the KAP of the staff involved in direct patient care facility regarding the biomedical waste management practices. The KAP study enrolled 100 respondents, representing doctors and nurses. Result: Here, a significant gap was observed in the knowledge, attitude and practice of the medical and paramedical staff regarding biomedical waste disposal, their knowledge/understanding of the subject. Conclusion: Induction training and continuous in-service training of the staff regarding BMW disposals are required as it is very important for prevention of healthcare associated infection.