A Comparative Study on Perception about Biomedical Waste Management among the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in South Delhi

Abhay Singh; Neetu Singh; Vinoth Chellaiyan; DS Martolia; Ravinder Singh Bedi; Chandra Mauli Mishra

Abhay Singh Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, AIIMS, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Neetu Singh Faculty, Department of Physiology, ERA Medical College & University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Vinoth Chellaiyan Department of Community Medicine, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chennai, India.
DS Martolia Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Ravinder Singh Bedi Professor and Head, Department of Dentistry, AIIMS, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Chandra Mauli Mishra Senior Resident, Department of Community Medicine, AIIMS, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Keywords: Biomedical Waste, Healthcare Facility, Knowledge, Undergraduate, Postgraduate

Abstract

Background: Biomedical waste poses a great risk of infection and damage. Improper waste management could have major public health repercussions. Medical students are exposed to various biomedical wastes during their training in the hospital. Their lack of awareness about biomedical waste management is hazardous to their health and the health of others. The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate and postgraduate studentsâ€™ understanding of biomedical waste management in a study setting.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 undergraduate and postgraduate students at a tertiary care hospital in South Delhi in 2019. Data were collected using a self-structured and administered questionnaire after taking informed consent. Data were analysed using SPSS 20.0 software.
Results: 86% of participants were aware of the BMW legislation. 79% always practised BMWM guidelines and 65% had correctly identified biohazard symbols. Postgraduate students had better knowledge about colour coding and disposal methods of biomedical waste than undergraduate students including interns.
Conclusions: Undergraduate and postgraduate students were aware of biomedical waste but finer details for its management were far from perfection. Sensitisation about BMW hazards, regular training, continuous monitoring, and feedback are recommended to improve their biomedical waste management practices.

How to cite this article:
Singh A, Singh N, Chellaiyan V, Martolia DS, Bedi RS, Mishra CM. A Comparative Study on Perception about Biomedical Waste Management among the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in South Delhi. J Commun Dis. 2022;54(4):1-6.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202295

References

Mathur P, Patan S, Shobhawat S. Need of biomedical waste management system in hospitals - an emerging issue - areview. Curr World Environ. 2012;7(1):117-24.

Central Pollution Control Board Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. Guidelines for management of healthcare waste as per biomedical waste management rules. New Delhi, India 2016.

Pruss A, Giroult E, Rushbrook P. Safe management of wastes from health care activities. Geneva: WHO 1999. [Google Scholar]

Kumar AP, Selvaraj K, Kavitha I, Arthi R, Iyyaparaj A, Kumar PD. Knowledge and attitude regarding biomedical waste management among dental students and practitioners in Chennai, India across sectional study. e-MIDAS. 2016;3(4):1-19. [Google Scholar]

Hashish EA, Mari SH, Al Sulami HZ. Knowledge, attitude and practice of undergraduate and intern Saudi nursing students regarding biomedical waste management and influencing factors. Int J Nurs. 2020;7(1):56-68. [Google Scholar]

Chudasama RK, Rangoonwala M, Seth A, Misra SK, Kadri AM, Patel UV. Biomedical waste management: a study of knowledge, attitude and practice among health care personnel at tertiary care hospital in Rajkot. J Res Med Dent Sci. 2013;1(1):17-22. [Google Scholar]

Basu M, Das P, Pal R. Assessment of future physicians on biomedical waste management in a tertiary care hospital of West Bengal. J Nat SciBiol Med. 2012;3(1):38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Chowdhary A. Study of knowledge, behaviour and practice of biomedical waste among health personnel. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018;5(8):3330.

Prashanth VK, Jadhav HC, Dodamani AS, Dodamani GA, Vishwakarma AP. Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding awareness of biomedical waste management among health care personnel: a crosssectional survey. J Oral Health Community Denti. 2017;11(1):8-12.

Singhal L, Tuli AK, Gautam V. Biomedical waste management guidelines whatâ€™s done and what needs to be done. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2017;35(2):194-8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Kumar M, Singh RK, Umesh, Rawat V. Awareness and practices about bio-medical waste among the health care workers in tertiary care hospital of Haldwani, Nainital. Nat JMed Res. 2015;5(1):47-51. [Google Scholar]

Singh S, Sharma N, Mishra P. Perception regarding biomedical waste management among medical students in a tertiary care hospital. Indian J Community Health. 2019;31(1):137-43. [Google Scholar]

Sharma S, Deori TJ. Study on knowledge, attitude and practices regarding biomedical waste management among post graduate residents in a tertiary care hospital of Lucknow. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2020;7(7):2730-33.

Ajmera V, Jayalakshmi LS. A study to assess the knowledge regarding bio-medical waste management among BSc nursing students of selected nursing colleges of Udaipur (Raj). Int J Sci Res. 2016;5(4).

Vohra P, Sharma N, Mane P, Garima G, Sharma A, Singh N. Awareness of biomedical waste management among MBBS students at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Mewat, Haryana. J Med Sci Cli Res. 2017;5(9):28328-31. [Google Scholar]

Soumya S, Maste PS, Uppin A. KAP Study regarding Biomedical Waste Management (BMW) among the undergraduate medical students: a cross-sectional study. Int J Med Sci Innov Res. 2018;3(2):230-35.

Haidar S, Kumari S, Kashyap V, Sundaram S, Singh SB. A study on knowledge and practice regarding biomedical waste management among staff nurses and nursing students of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi. Indian J Community Health. 2015;27(1):135-38. [Google Scholar]

Medaduwage IN, Seelan RJ, Azman II, Rahman MA. Cross sectional study on the knowledge, attitude and awareness of biomedical waste management among medical students. Int J Biomed Clin Sci. 2020;5(3):131-40.

Jalal SM, Akhtar F, Abdelhafez AI, Alrajeh AM. Assessment of knowledge, practice and attitude about biomedical waste management among healthcare professionals during COVID-19 crises in Al-Ahsa. Healthcare (Basel). 2021;9(6):747. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Sekar M, Swapna M, EasowJM. A study on knowledge, attitude and practice of biomedical waste management among health care workers in a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry. Indian J Microbiol Res. 2018;5(1):57-60. [Google Scholar]

Kahn PS, Raviprabhu G. Knowledge about biomedical waste management among medical students of a tertiary care hospital, Tirupati. Int J Res Health Sci. 2013;1(2).

Kishore J, Goel P, Sagar B, Joshi TK. Awareness about biomedical waste management and infection control among dentists of a teaching hospital in New Delhi, India. Indian J Dent Res. 2000;11(4):157-61. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Kishore J, Agarwal R, Kohli C, Sharma PK, Kamat N, Tyagi S. Status of biomedical waste management in nursing homes of Delhi, India. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014;8(3):56-8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]