To Assess the Extent of Skin Aberrations on the Hands of Biomedical Waste Handlers by using Suitable Objective Methods

There is a need of training biomedical waste handlers for improving their work efficiency and adoption of safe practice of biomedical disposal there by improving the safety exposed to the infectious and toxic waste of the hospitals. Aim - To improve the work efficiency of biomedical waste handlers and adopt safe practices of bio-medical waste disposal in a hospital setting. Objectives- 1. To assess the extent of skin aberrations on the hands of biomedical waste handlers by using suitable objective methods. Material and Methods A study was conducted on 187 BMWHs working in KH& KIMS, Karad. To fulfill the appropriately calculated minimum simple size of 144. The study period October 2008 to Sept.2013. It included observations made by sterilized and cooled India ink manufactured by Camlin Ltd, Mumbai for reveling abrasions and cuts on the hands of BMWH. The lecture and CD ROM presentation were followed by discussion to remove any doubts in the minds of the participants. Handouts of does and donts were distributed for ready references. Ten days after training posttest was taken on the same knowledge questionnaire and check list of observation of practices. Written consent of the participant and ethical committee clearance was obtained before the commencement of the study. Results, Injury the lesion/cuts and abrasions could be identified by naked eyes in 41persons.41 (21.9 %) as compared to 64 (34.2 %) by 10X lens and 51 (27.3 %) after India ink application the highest detection rate noticed by 10Xlens with magnification.