Awareness and Barriers toward Hospital Green Practices regarding Waste Management in Light of Sustainability among Obstetrics and Gynecology Nurses: Educational Guidelines

Background: A key component of sustainable development, green hospital practices show how environmental concerns and high-quality healthcare may coexist. There is an increasing focus on sustainable green practices, particularly in the obstetrics and gynecology department, because nurses' waste management procedures contribute to environmental damage. Aim : To evaluate the effect of educational guidelines on awareness and barriers toward hospital green practices regarding waste management in light of sustainability among obstetrics and gynecology nurses.. Design: To accomplish the goal, a quasi-experimental research design (one group "pre/posttest") was used. Setting: The research was conducted in the obstetrics and gynecology department of Benha University Hospitals in the Egyptian governorate of Qaliobya. Research Sample: For the research, a convenient sample of 127 nurses who are currently employed in the obstetrics and gynecological department was gathered. Tools: A structured self-administered questionnaire, Nurses' knowledge questionnaire, Nurses' green practices questionnaire and Barriers to apply green practices regarding waste management questionnaire. Results: At the pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up phases, there was a highly statistically significant difference in the mean scores of the nurses' knowledge and hospital green practices related waste management. Additionally, less than two-thirds of the nurses in the research stated that there were significant obstacles to implementing hospital green waste management techniques. Conclusion: The educational guidelines significantly improve the knowledge, and practices of obstetrics and gynecology nurses toward hospital green practices regarding waste management in light of sustainability. As well as, many of the studied nurses reported high barriers to apply hospital green practices regarding waste management. Recommendations: enhancing obstetrics and gynecology nurses' health education to increase their knowledge of sustainable waste management methods.