TITLE

Awareness and practices of biomedical waste management amongst health care workers in a tertiary
care institute,Khanpur kalan,Sonipat

Guide : Dr. Vijay Silan

( Associate Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine)

CO GUIDE : Dr. JP Majra

(Professor & HOD , Dept. Of Community Medicine)

CONDUCTED BY :

501- Dr. Aanchal Sharma

502- Dr. Aarohi Modi

503- Dr. Akshita Deswal

504- Dr. Anamika

INTRODUCTION

Biomedical waste (BMW) is any waste produced during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of
human or animal research activities pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biological or in
health camps.

The best BMW management (BMWM) methods aim at avoiding generation of waste or recovering as
much as waste as possible, rather than disposing. Therefore, the various methods of BMW disposal,
according to their desirability, are prevent, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, treat, and lastly dispose.
Hence, the waste should be tackled at source rather than “end of pipe approach.[4]

Biomedical waste poses hazard due to two principal reasons – the first is infectivity and other toxicity
particularly to the people handling it or the people who come in contact with it [5]

So here comes the role of effective segregation which refers to the basic separation of different
categories of waste generated at source and thereby reducing the risks as well as cost of handling and
disposal. It is the most crucial step in bio-medical waste management. Effective segregation alone can
ensure effective biomedical waste management.
Lack of adequate knowledge regarding bio-medical waste segregation poses significant hazardous risk to
the patients ,health care workers ,the community as well as the environment.[2]

This study aims to assess the gaps in knowledge, awareness and practices regarding biomedical waste
management among Health care workers in Tertiary care hospital.(1)

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1 N B Pandit et al. Conducted a cross sectional study in 30 hostipals of gujarat.The doctors and auxiliary
staff of those 30 hospitals were the study population. While all the doctors knew about the existence of
the law related to biomedical waste but details were not known. Doctors were aware of risk of HIV and
Hepatitis B and C, whereas auxiliary staff (ward boys, ayabens, sweepers) had very poor knowledge
about it. There was no effective waste segregation, collection, transportation and disposal system at any
hospital in the district. [3]

2 Gehan M A Mostafa et al. conducted a cross sectional study at Al-Mansoura university hospital
including 38 doctor 106 nurses and 56 housekeepers.Only 27.4% of the nurses, 32.1% of the
housekeepers, and 36.8% of the doctors had satisfactory knowledge. Concerning practice, 18.9% of the
nurses, 7.1% of the housekeepers, and none of the doctors had adequate practice. [6]

3 Nkonge Njagi et al. conducted a study at Kenyatta National hospital, Nairobi on clinicians, nurses,
laboratory technologists and hospital attendants to identify the gaps with a focus on their knowledge,
attitude and practice.This study therefore concludes that it is necessary for healthcare workers training
curricula to include health and safety issues while managing hazardous health-care waste as well as
establishes the need for healthcare institutions to conduct continuing education on health and safety in
the management of health-care waste.[7]

4 Neeraj Kumar Gupta et al. conducted a cross sectional study at PHC,Luknow. The study revealed lack
of knowledge and awareness about bio-medical waste management amongst primary healthcare
workers which results in inadequate handling and management, thereby exposing them as well as the
general public to health and environmental hazards.[8]
5 Mukesh Kumar et al. Conducted a cross sectional study among the health care workers at a tertiary
institute. Result showed that awareness regarding disposal of items in red, yellow and puncture proof
containers was 32.7%, 51.8% and 60.9% in health care workers respectively. Only 35.4% of health care
workers had undergone training on biomedical waste management and 31% health care workers were
found to be unvaccinated against hepatitis B infection. [9]

OBJECTIVE

1 Awareness of bio-medical waste management

2 Assess the percentage of healthcare workers who have undertaken training for the same

3 Practices with respect to segregation, use of colour coding, sharps management

MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY

Study area : BPS Government Medical College for Women

Study period : jan 2022 to feb 2022

Study population : Interns, bearers, Nursing staff

Study design : Cross Sectional Study

Sample size : 100

Sample method : Online through google forms

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name

Age

Sex

1. Are all healthcare waste hazardous?

a) Yes
b) No
c) Don’t know
2. Have you had any training in biomedical waste management?
a) Yes
b) No

3. Do you know about colour coding segregation of biomedical waste?

a) Yes
b) No
c) Not sure

4. According to National guidelines , what is the maximum time limit for which
biomedical waste can be stored?
a) 24 hrs
b) 72hrs
c) 48 hrs
d) Don’t know
5. Are you aware about IMAGE?
a) Yes
b) No
6. If yes what does image stand for?
a) Indian medical association for greener environment
b) Indian medical association Goes Eco Friendly
c) Indian medical association for go green eco-friendly
d) Don’t know
7. What does this symbol indicate?
 a) Chemical waste
b) Biohazard symbol
c) Cytotoxic hazard symbol
d) Contaminated waste

8. Do you agree that biomedical waste should be segregated into different

categories?
a) Yes
b) No
Not sure

9) Do you think that your knowledge regarding biomedical waste management

adequate ?

a) yes
b) no
c) not sure

10) Do you think that you require any further training on biomedical waste
management?

a) yes

b) no
c) not sure

11) Occupational safety of a waste handler is must?

a) agree
b) disagree
c) don’t know

12 ) Does your institute have incinerator for treatment of biomedical waste

management?
 a) Yes
b) No
c) Don’t know

13) Do you segregate the biomedical waste into different categories?

a) yes

b) no

14) where do you dispose cotton ,gauze and other items contaminated by blood?

a) Red plastic bag

b) yellow plastic bag

c) general waste

d) white container

15) where do you dispose pharmaceutical waste ?

a) Black plastic bag

b) Red plastic bag

c) yellow plastic bag

d) white container

16) where do you dispose waste sharps?

a) black plastic bag

 b) Red plastic bag

c) yellow plastic bag

d) white container

17) Incineration is safe method for treatment of ?

a) anatomical waste, animal carcasses and amputated limbs

b) microbiological waste

c) infected metallic implants

18) where do you dispose contaminated glassware and medicine vials?

a) yellow bag

b) Red bag

c) White container with biohazard label

d) Blue card box

19) which bag do you use for disposal of gloves?

a) Red bag

b) yellow bag

c) either of two

d) none

20) Proper method for needle disposal?

a) recapping
 b) burning and cutting

c ) disinfection in sodium hypochlorite

d) All

REFERENCES
1 - https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
lookup=0&q=awareness+and+practices+of+biomedical+waste+management+among+health+care+work
ers&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3D3govixqrME8J

2- https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
lookup=0&q=awareness+and+practices+of+biomedical+waste+management+among+health+care+work
ers&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3D3govixqrME8J

3 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16479910/

4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5784295/

5 https://vikaspedia.in/energy/environment/waste-management/bio-medical-waste-management/
biomedical-waste-and-its-segregation#:~:text=Segregation%20refers%20to%20the%20basic,ensure
%20effective%20biomedical%20waste%20management

6 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18316184/

7 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22752531/

8 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
lookup=0&q=awareness+and+practices+of+biomedical+waste+management+among+health+care+work
ers&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3D3govixqrME8J

9 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
lookup=0&q=awareness+and+practices+of+biomedical+waste+management+among+health+care+work
ers&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DvVlbZNCC3dYJ