Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Bio-medical Waste Management Amongst Staff of Institutional Trauma Center Level II

Background- Despite the statutory provision of Biomedical Waste Management, bio waste management practices in Indian Hospitals have not achieved the desired outcomes. The present study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) on the subject was carried out in the institutional trauma center of a medical teaching institute in Northern India. Method and Materials- The hospital under scrutiny for KAP is a 290 bedded trauma center. The study is based on a questionnaire designed to understand the KAP of these staff involved in direct patient care. The KAP study enrolled 256 respondents, representing doctors, residents, nurses and paramedicals from patient care areas. Observations and Results- A significant gap was observed in the knowledge, attitude and practice of the consultants, residents, nurses and paramedicals in regard to biomedical waste disposal. Conclusions- The definite apathy of intellectuals towards the operational aspects of the BMW management can be attributed to the tubular vision of the professionals that is mainly focused on the treatment aspects of the patient. Residents showed very low KAP of BMW, may be because of their preoccupation in another aspect of patient care. Nursing professionals on the other hand, had an edge over the clinicians as far as attitude and practice of BMW management is concerned. This can be attributed to their accountability in ward management. The para-medical staff had less understanding on the subject, but had a relatively less positive attitude. Their attitude was lesser rigid than other worker, which may be attributed to fear for any punitive action.