Biomedical Waste Management Practices of Doctors: An Online Snapshot

Mohapatra  Archisman; Manoj K Gupta; Siddharudha Shivalli; CP Mishra; SC Mohapatra

Authors

Mohapatra Archisman Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP, India
Manoj K Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP, India
Siddharudha Shivalli Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP, India
CP Mishra Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP, India
SC Mohapatra Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP, India

Keywords:

Biomedical waste, doctor, professional behavior, respondent-driven technique

Abstract

Objective: This study was undertaken with the objective to assess the professional behavior of doctors in India regarding Bio-Medical Waste (BMW) management.

Methods: A predesigned questionnaire containing a set of nine open-ended questions was sent to 557 email contacts obtained randomly from social networking sites by using respondent-driven sampling technique. Non-duplicated opinions from only those respondents who had completed their medical education in India and working in the country were included for analyses.

Results: Remnant knowledge of BMW management as self-adjudged was significantly (p<0.001) poor among post-graduates (35.5%) than medical graduates (75%). It was evident that proper practice of BMW segregation at the work place had a significant association (p<0.001) with higher knowledge of the same. Almost one third respondents did not know about the bio-hazardous waste symbol.

Discussion and Conclusions: This study underscores the need for effective BMW management training of medicos with regular refresher sessions.

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