Assessment Of Knowledge, Attitude And Practice  In  Hospital Waste Management Among Health Care Professionals In A Tertiary Care Hospital, Kurnool,Andhra Pradesh

Background: Enormous amounts of biomedical waste is generated in our country daily, contains hazardous and infectious materials. It is vital that healthcare professionals has correct knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding biomedical waste management. Objectives: To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices among doctors, interns, nurses and laboratory technicians regarding biomedical waste management in a tertiary care hospital in south India. Materials and methods: A questionnaire-based cross sectional study was conducted among 150 doctors, 60 interns, 50 nurses and 50 laboratory technicians in government general Hospital in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, South India. Results: Good Knowledge was observed among 135 (90.0%) doctors, 30 (60.0%) laboratory technicians, 29 (58.0%) nurses followed by 35(58.3%) interns, which is statistically significant. Good attitude was shown by 133 (88.7%) doctors, 33 (66.0%) nurses, 26 (52.0%) laboratory technicians, followed by 30 (50.0%) interns and the difference is statistically significant. Good Practices were followed among 134(89.3%) doctors , 30(60%) nurses, 30 (60%) laboratory technicians and 35 (58.3%) interns, which is statistically significant. Conclusions: Overall, knowledge, attitudes, and practices were better among the doctors and nurses than among the interns and laboratory technicians .