Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Biomedical Waste Management in Nursing Staff of a Private and a Government Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital: A Comparative Study

Introduction: Biomedical waste is “Any waste which is generated in the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or during research” in a hospital. Improper disposal of hospital waste poses a major threat to the environment. Lack of proper management, awareness, insufficient resources and poor control of disposal of waste are the most pressing problems faced. Objective: To compare the knowledge, attitude and practice of hospital waste management in nursing staffs and nursing assistants of a private and government tertiary care hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Methodology: This is a cross sectional study done in a private and a government tertiary care teaching institute on 300 nursing staff (150 from each) using an orally administered structured questionnaire. The data were entered into excel and analysis was done. Result: Of the 150 participants from government hospital 71% had training in BMW management,82% knew where to report in case of a needle stick injury,61% perceived that they have adequate knowledge regarding BMW management,98% were willing to attend programmes regarding BMW. 73% had good knowledge regarding BMW management. 90% practice good management of BMW. Of the 150 participants from private hospital 81%had training in BMW management, 79%knew where to report in case of needle stick injury, 67% perceived that they have adequate knowledge regarding BMW management, 95% were willing to attend programs regarding BMW management. 74% had good knowledge. 85% practice good management of BMW. Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude and practice of BMW management among nurses and nursing assistants of the private and the government hospital are found to be satisfactory. There is no significant difference (at p<0.05) in the knowledge, attitude and practice of BMW management among the nurses and nursing assistants of both the hospitals.