Study on Knowledge and Practice of Hospital Waste Management among Nursing Staff in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh
Author(s): Paromita Roy, Saptarishi Bose*
Abstract
Background: According to BMW Rules 2016 Bio-Medical waste is any waste, which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or research activities pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of Biologicals. Hospitals are the major contributor of Bio-Medical Waste, and Hospital waste refers to all waste generated by hospitals, including infectious and non-infectious waste materials and hazardous waste. Materials and methods: A Hospital based Cross sectional Study was done in Great Eastern. Medical School & General Hospital, Srikakulam, during the period of October 2020 to November 2020.A convenient sample of 178 nursing staff in different cadre of 8 departments were selected randomly. A Predesigned & Pretested questionnaire was used and data regarding knowledge and practice was recorded. Results: A total of 178 study participants are interviewed and their responses were recorded. Most of them were Female (87%), 53.3% of them had MSc Nursing as qualification. Among the BSc Nursing staff 97.6% of them are aware of definition of hospital waste, 89.8% of staff nurses and 80% of A.N.M.s are aware of definition of hospital waste. Conclusion: The majority of nurses have good knowledge about infectious and non-infectious waste. The findings are in correlation with Saini et al. Majority of Nursing Staff had knowledge regarding storage time for infectious is less than 48 hrs. Good knowledge was seen in highly qualified nursing staff regarding disposal of hospital waste. BSc qualified nurses have better knowledge and practice about hospital waste than A.N.M. group.