Knowledge and Practices of Hospital Waste Management in Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Abstract
Hospital waste management is the segregation, collection, treatment, disposal or
recycling of the medical wastes. It is an often overlooked yet an integral part of a sound
public and environmental health. Bangladesh have been struggling to meet the standard
of safe hospital waste management. This study aims to identify the existing gaps and
limitations of the hospitals’ waste management facilities as well as assess the knowledge
level of four participant groups who are doctors, medical staff (nurse, technicians),
cleaners and the patients in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The result findings combine a
situational analysis of the hospitals and the knowledge regarding waste management. A
descriptive cross-sectional study was used. Two sets of structure questionnaire were
prepared for both the participants and the hospitals. Data collection was done in 7
private hospitals and 5 public hospitals where total of 263 participants were interviewed
following a purposive sampling method. SPSS was used for data management and
analysis. The research found association between the knowledge of the participants and
their education and occupation. The assessment of the hospitals presented an
unsatisfactory level of waste management where most of the wastes were dumped in
open areas (50% of the infectious waste), all chemical wastes are discharged in the
water without any treatment and proper equipment and supervision are lacking. With the
suggestions and recommended learning methods provided by the participants, the result
findings can be applied to strengthen the existing waste management guidelines and
protect against the hazardous hospital wastes.
Collections
- Class of 2020 [38]