Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Medical Waste- ‎Management regarding Health Care Providers in Zawia Medical ‎Center: 2023-2024‎

Abstract

Biomedical waste (BMW) is defined as any type of waste that is generated during diagnosis, treatment, immunization, or research in humans and/or animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that only 15% of the total amount of waste generated during healthcare activity is categorized as hazardous waste, this category includes broken medical equipment, radiation waste, blood and tissues, human anatomical parts, radiation waste, chemo-toxic drugs. Around 85% of the waste are non-hazardous, similar to household waste. Aim of determining the current status of awareness and practices regarding BMWM among the healthcare workers (HCWs) in the hospital, identifying the areas of deficit, and forwarding the results to the BMWM Committee (BMWMC) of the hospital to take the requisite corrective action. In this cross- sectional study, participants were interviewed using a predesigned questionnaire that included items about the occupational background of participants and questions related to KAP regarding BMW Management (BMWM) and areas of deficit amongst the participants in Zawia Medical Center. The majority (86%) respondents were female, and the majority of the sample (59%) comprises healthcare providers with less than 5 years of experience. Most of them had not received any waste management related training/education (77%). We recommended there is an urgent need to raise awareness about BMWM among the hospital staff.