AWARENESS ON BIOMEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS -A CROSS SECTIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Introduction: It is known that many countries worldwide have been facing a common problem hazardous to both health and environment of their civilizations is health care waste. Healthcare services involved in serving people has been producing indiscriminate amount of these biomedical waste, which is not a neglecting fact as linked to our current state of the earth which is already facing many risks and disasters in the form of pollution, changes in biodiversity and climatic conditions of it inhabitants . Objective: With this background in picture, present study was conducted with an objective to assess awareness on biomedical waste management through a knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire survey among dental undergraduate students and house surgeons. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among the study population in an institution located in Southern part of Andhra Pradesh state. A total of 120 study subjects participated in the survey with earlier consent. Statistical Analysis: Collected data were tabulated, and interpreted in percentages of observations by using SPSS software version 20.0 Results: From the study, it isrevealed that the knowledge and awareness regarding BMW management was satisfactory among the third year dental students and house surgeons with few lapses observed in the overall training of the students regarding BWM. Conclusion: The result clearly shows the need for a complete and constant educational programme regarding various medical hazards associated with improper waste management at all levels of the dental curriculum.