Impact of an educational program on knowledge and practice of health care staff toward pharmaceutical waste management in Gaza, Palestine

Abstract

In health care facilities, pharmaceutical waste is generally discharged down the drain or sent to landfill. Poor knowledge about their potential downstream impacts may be a primary factor for improper disposal behavior. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of an intervention program on knowledge and practice of health care staff regarding pharmaceutical waste management. The study was designed as a pre/posttest intervention study. Total sample size was 530 in the pre-intervention phase, and then a subsample of 69 individuals was selected for the intervention and the post-intervention phases. Paired-sample t test was used to assess the difference between pretest and follow-up test results. A statistically significant improvement in knowledge and practice was achieved (P < 0.001). Poor knowledge and poor practice levels (scores <50%) were found to improve to satisfactory levels (scores ≥75%). Therefore, educational programs could be considered as an effective tool for changing health care staff practice in pharmaceutical waste management.Implications: In health care facilities, pharmaceutical waste is generally discharged down the drain or sent to landfill. A lack of knowledge about the potential impacts of this type of waste may be a leading factor in improper disposal behavior. Following an educational program, statistically significant improvement in knowledge and practice of health care staff as regards to pharmaceutical waste management (PWM) was achieved. It is thus recommended that authorities implement training-of-trainers (TOT) programs to educate health care staff on PWM and organize refreshment workshops regularly.PAPER HISTORY

Correlates Of Knowledge, Attitude And Practices About Health Care Waste Management Among Hospital Workers Of Pakistan

“…Waste handling practices among health workers in hospitals in Pakistan fail to comply with the standards. Factors like; levels of education and experience in relevant fields have been shown to associate with knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) among health workers in hospitals 11,12 . There is need to explore and identify the pertinent correlates of improper HCWM in order to inform hospitals and other health institutions in developing countries for better handling of healthcare waste(4).…”

Gerenciamento de resíduos de serviço de saúde pelos cirurgiões-dentistas no Planalto Serrano Catarinense

“…Além disso, é necessária a inserção do tema nos cursos de graduação em Odontologia, especializações, além de uma constante capacitação dos profissionais que atuam nessa área (MORAES, 2014). Neste sentido, autores relatam que a quantidade de resíduos patogênicos e infecciosos pode ser drasticamente diminuída com treinamento adequado (HEGDE; KULKARNI; AJANTHA, 2007;NANDWANI, 2010;TABASH et al, 2016). Vale destacar que, no setor público, pode ser menos desafiador fortalecer a educação permanente e as capacitações aos profissionais de uma determinada equipe de saúde, uma vez que a gestão dos RSS não é uma atribuição somente da Odontologia, mas de outras áreas da saúde, tais como a Enfermagem, que tem significativa atribuição vinculada à gestão dos resíduos, cujas capacitações e treinamentos são recomendados e, na maioria das vezes, exigidos a todos os profissionais da saúde que atuam no setor público de saúde.…”

Circular economy adoption challenges in medical waste management for sustainable development: An empirical study

“…Yang et al (2009) investigated the sustainable management measure, which should be implemented for healthcare waste. Many studies indicate that appropriate and proper training of healthcare or medical workers can significantly reduce improper medical health management (Tabash et al, 2016). Rolewicz-Kali nska (2016) studied the logistics constraints present in medical waste management.…”