Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Biomedical Waste Management as Per 2019 Rules among Nursing Students

Abstract

Introduction- Biomedical waste is of global subject today. The biomedical waste (management and handling) rules came into existence in 1998 with the latest amendment being made in 2019. Methods- This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried among 163 nursing students to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding biomedical waste management as per 2019 rules using total enumeration method. Nursing students who had clinical exposure >6 months and willing to participate were included in the study. Nursing students who were in their 1st academic year were excluded. The questionnaire was divided into four components assessing knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding biomedical waste management. The obtained scores of participants were converted into percentages and categorized as excellent (> 70%) and poor (< 70%). Results- Mean age of participants was 21.54 + 2.49 years with the majority being female (81.6%) and studying in B.Sc. nursing (59.5%). Majority of participants had poor level of knowledge in various domains of biomedical waste management like awareness (78.5%), color coding (84.7%), biomedical waste disposal methods (92.6%), and universal precautions (97.5%) except for biomedical waste hazard symbol (15.3%). About 95.1% of participants had overall poor knowledge regarding biomedical waste management. Nearly 76.1% and 74.2% of participants showed positive attitudes and safe practice patterns respectively. Conclusion- Although nursing student’s attitudes and patterns of practice were excellent yet they had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge related to recent amendments in biomedical waste management rules, 2019. Regular teaching and periodic monitoring of practices regarding biomedical waste are highly recommended. Key words: knowledge, attitude, practices, biomedical waste, nursing students.

Review of Knowledge and Practice of Nurses Regarding Biomedical Waste in Healthcare Settings

“…This waste includes discarded medical supplies and equipment. (Tiwari et al, 2021) The previous century saw a significant mushrooming of healthcare facilities in both the public and commercial sectors, which was done to satisfy the requirements of a growing population. The introduction, widespread use, and ever-increasing demand for so-called "disposable products" have resulted in the current healthcare system's production of a significant quantity of trash.…”