Knowledge regarding biomedical waste management among RHOs (Resident house officers) in a tertiary care centre

摘要

Background: Proper segregation and safe disposal of BMW is a responsibility of health care personals. As RHOs are going to be one of the important components of health care system, they should have sufficient knowledge on biomedical waste management. Besides house job is the time when a resident doctor spends most of his time dealing with patients and BMW in wards, hence, an attempt is made to assess the knowledge of resident doctors regarding segregation and disposal BMW. Aim: To assess the knowledge about various aspects of BMW management among RHOs of a tertiary care hospital, Udaipur. Materials and Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional observational study carried out among 115 RHOs in a medical college and attached hospitals in Udaipur, Rajasthan from July 2014 to October 2014, using pre-designed questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Ms Excel and epi- info 7 software. Results: Majority of the study population were in the age group of 25 to 30 years.Majority of respondents were aware of BMW (94.78%) and its health hazards(86.9%) but only about half of them (67.82%)had correct knowledge regarding handling rules for BMW. Only 26.1% had correct knowledge regarding final disposal of BMW. Conclusion: Although respondents bear good awareness of BMW and its health hazards but correct knowledge of BMW management needs strengthening. This emphasizes the importance of training regarding BMW management. Lack of proper and complete knowledge about biomedical waste management affects practices of appropriate waste disposal and jeopardizes the health and environment.