A STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES OF BIOMEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN DIAGNOSTIC HEALTHCARE CENTRES IN WEST BENGAL.
Main Article Content
Keywords
Biomedical Waste Management, KAP Study, Diagnostic Centres, West Bengal, Healthcare Personnel.
Abstract
Biomedical waste (BMW) generated during diagnosis and treatment poses severe threats to the environment and healthcare personnel, including the transmission of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis. While India has established laws for BMW management, implementation and awareness remain unsatisfactory, particularly in the rapidly growing sector of smaller diagnostic facilities.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) regarding biomedical waste management, legislation, and safety among healthcare personnel in private diagnostic centres.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over two months at three leading private diagnostic centres in West Midnapore, West Bengal. The study population consisted of 270 voluntary participants, comprising 45 doctors, 156 laboratory technicians, 30 laboratory attendants, and 39 general duty attendants. A pre-tested, structured questionnaire containing 30 questions (divided equally into knowledge, attitude, and practice domains) was used for data collection.
Results: Knowledge regarding BMW legislation was found to be "good" in only 53.33% of doctors and 50% of technicians, while attendants and general duty staff scored significantly lower. Regarding attitude, 50% of the total participants considered BMW management an "extra burden" on their work. While doctors (30/45) and technicians (90/156) demonstrated "good" practice awareness, lower-tier staff fared poorly. Notably, 70% of all participants had poor awareness regarding post-exposure prophylaxis.
Conclusion: The study reveals a critical gap in knowledge and awareness among healthcare personnel, including doctors and technical staff. Strict implementation of regulations, regular intensive training programs, and the involvement of top management are recommended to improve waste management practices and ensure occupational safety.
References
2. Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). National Guidelines on Hospital Waste Management Based upon the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998. New Delhi: MoHFW; 2002.
3. Pruss A, Cirouit E, Rushbrook P: Definition and Characterization of Health-Care Waste. In Safe Management of Wastes From Health-Care Activities. Geneva: WHO; 1999; 2–46.
4. Sudeep et al. A KAP study to assess biomedical waste management in a dental college in south india: World journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences Volume 6, Issue 4, 1788-1794
5. Palwankar PV, Singh A. Safety and measures for auxiliary staff associated with hospital waste disposal. Indian Journal of Dental Sciences. 2012; 4: 104-106.
6. Summers J. Asset disposal: Follow company policies or follow the law? Journal of Healthcare Materiel Management. 1991; 9: 54-56
7. Pandit NB, Mehta HK, Kartha GP, Choudhary SK. Management of bio-medical waste; Awareness and practices in a district of Gujarat. Indian Journal of Public Health. 2005; 49: 245-247.
8. Rao PH. Report: Hospital waste management-awareness and practices: A study of three states in India. Waste Management and Research. 2008; 26: 297-303.
9. Kishore J, Goel P, Sagar B, Joshi TK. Awareness about biomedical waste management and infection control among dentists of a teaching hospital in New Delhi. Indian Journal of Dental Research. 2000; 111: 157-161
10. Yong Geng, Mustafa Ali, Wenping Wang et al Hospital waste management in developing countries: A mini review February 1, 2017
11. Mathur P, Patan S, Shobhawat S. Need of Biomedical Waste Management System in Hospitals - An Emerging issue - A Review. Curr World Environ 2012;7(1):117-124
12. Joseph L, Paul H, Premkumar J, Rabindranath, Paul R, Michael J S. Biomedical waste management: Study on the awareness and practice among healthcare workers in a tertiary teaching hospital. Indian J Med Microbiol 2015;33:129-31
13. Harsh G. Shah, Mihir Parikh, Ishani Mehta, Merosha Nair, Payal Desai, and Vasudha Sodani. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Interns, Graduates and Postgraduate Students at Private Dental Colleges in Ahmedabad Regarding Bio Medical Waste Management. Journal of Advanced Oral Research 2015 Vol 6, Issue 1, pp. 25 – 28
14. Joshi SC, Diwan V, Tamhankar AJ, Joshi R, Shah H, Sharma M, et al. (2015) Staff Perception on Biomedical or Health Care Waste Management: A Qualitative Study in a Rural Tertiary Care Hospital in India. PLoS ONE 10(5): e0128383.
15. Pandey V et al.2018, Biomedical Waste Management Among Dental Surgeons of lucknow. Int J Recent Sci Res. 9(3), pp.24975-24977.
16. Datta P, Mohi GK, Chander J. Biomedical waste management in India: Critical appraisal. Journal of Laboratory Physicians. 2018;10(1):6-14.
17. CHANGMAI, Arabinda et al. Bio-medical waste management in different hospitals of Guwahati and its effect on environment.Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Research, 2018. , v. 6, n. 1, p. 7-10, apr.
18. Mehta TK, Shah PD, Tiwari KD. A Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Study of Biomedical Waste Management and Bio-safety among Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Care Government Hospital in Western India. Natl J Community Med 2018; 9(5): 327-333
19. sharma , Jaipur OHDM
20. SOYAM, Gajanan C. et al. KAP study of bio-medical waste management among health care workers in Delhi.International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, v. 4, n. 9, p. 3332-3337, aug. 2017
21. Mondal R, and Satyanarayana P. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Study Regarding Bio-Medical Waste Management Among Staff in a Tertiary Care Hospital at Andhra Pradesh." Asian Journal of Management, 2018. Academic OneFile, Accessed 28 July 2018
22. Pandey, Aastha; Dardi, Charan Kaur. KAP study on bio-medical waste management among interns in a tertiary care hospital in Maharashtra. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, Oct 2017, v. 4, n. 11, p. 4174-4177, oct. 2017
23. Chaudhuri, Aditi; Chattopadhyay, Sita; H. S., Siddalingaiah. Rationality in handling biomedical waste: a study on the sanitary workers from a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, [S.l.], vol 4, p. 2327-2332, june 2017
24. Chowdhary, Anjuman. Study of knowledge, behaviour and practice of biomedical waste among health personnel. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 8, p. 3330-3334, july 2018.
25. Kariwala P, Dixit A, Jain P, Rani V, Srivastava D. Assessment of knowledge and skills of nursing staff working in a tertiary care hospital of Western Uttar Pradesh. Indian J Community Health
26. Ndiaye M, El Metghari L, Soumah MM, Sow ML. Biomedical waste management in five hospitals in Dakar, Bulletin de la Societé de pathologie exotique. 2012; 105: 296-304.
27. Askarian M, Vakili M, Kabir G. Hospital waste management status in university hospitals of the Fars province, Iran. International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 2004; 14: 295-305
28. Al-Khatib IA, Khatib RA. Assessment of medical waste management in a Palestinian hospital. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. 2006; 12: 359-371.
29. Hassan MM, Ahmed SA, Rahman KA, et al. Pattern of medical waste management: existing scenario in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. BMC Public Health. 2008; 8: 36.
30. Ahmed Yar Al Balushi Muhammad Muqeet Ullah Amal Ali Al Makhamri et al Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Biomedical Waste Management among Health Care Personnel in a Secondary Care Hospital of Al Buraimi Governorate, Sultanate of Oman. Global journal of health science. 2018 vol 10
31. Da Silva CE, Hoppe AE, Ravanello MM, et al Medical waste management in the south of Brazil. Waste Management. 2005; 25: 600-605.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abhishek Chowdhury
Gouri Devi institute of medical sciences and hospital, Pathology, Associate Professor
Email Id: acisdifferent@gmail.com
Rajasree Chakrabarty
MJN medical College and Hospital, Pathology, Associate Professor
Email Id: palubandhu@gmail.com
Riju Bhattacharyya
MJN medical College and Hospital, Pathology, Assistant Professor
Email Id: rajasree1230@gmail.com
Palash Bhattacharyya
MJN medical College and Hospital, Pathology, Demonstrator
Email Id: dr.riju.bhattacharya@gmail.com
Kaushik Mukhopadhyay
AIIMS Kalyani, Pharmacology, Additional Professor
Email Id: kaushikthe1@gmail.com
