Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in respect of Medical Waste Management among Healthcare Workers in Clinics.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in respect of Medical Waste Management among Healthcare Workers in Clinics.
J Environ Public Health. 2020;2020:8745472
Authors: Akkajit P, Romin H, Assawadithalerd M
Abstract
Medical waste represents a significant health risk and an environmental pollution concern due to its hazardous characteristics. The knowledge and practice of healthcare personnel in respect of the disposal of medical waste is essential to perform effective medical waste management. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to medical waste management among healthcare workers in clinics (medical and dental clinics, specialized medical, laboratory clinics, polyclinics, and midwifery clinics) in Phuket, Thailand. A cross-sectional study was designed with stratified-random sampling used to select the sample of 344 respondents from 172 clinics of which data were collected using face-to-face interviews. The results showed that the majority of respondents (87.2%) were female of whom 36.9% were aged (20-29), 52.0% had more than 5 years working experience, and 51.2% had participated in at least one training course regarding medical waste management. The overall scores for knowledge, attitude, and practice were at a high level (89.5%, 91.9%, and 92.2%, respectively). Significant and positive correlations were found between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.464), knowledge ...

Source: Journal of Environmental and Public Health - October 21, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Tags: J Environ Public Health Source Type: research