Awareness of Biomedical Waste Management among Medical Staff in a Tertiary Care Hospital

The present study was aimed to determine the level of awareness regarding biomedical waste management (BMWM) among medical staff (doctors, nurses, lab technicians, multi--tasking persons) of different departments of a hospital. A study was conducted on a total of 200 staff (doctors, nurses, lab technicians, multi--tasking persons) of different departments of a hospital (emergency/ trauma, nursing home, laboratories and outpatient department). The questionnaire was used to determine the level of awareness among the staff. Results showed that the knowledge and awareness about BMW legislation and management was high in nurses as compared to other staff. The highest level of knowledge and awareness was found in emergency/ trauma as compared to other departments. This study suggested that there are poor levels of knowledge and awareness among multi--tasking persons about biomedical waste legislation, management and system. For effective implementation of BMWM practices in the hospitals, periodical sensitization and continuous training program is mandatory to improve the biomedical waste knowledge and practices among healthcare workers, especially focusing at the multi--tasking persons.