An Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) of Bio-Medical Waste Management During Covid-19 Among Health Care Workers In A Tertiary Care Hospital of Bihar

Abstract

Background: India is facing a lot of health care problems. With the increasing health care facilities, there is a growing concern of hazards of biomedical waste. Corona virus 19 (COVID 19) pandemic has added to this burden. Since the health care workers are at the centre of biomedical waste handling, their knowledge of adequate disposal of biomedical waste is of prime importance. Keeping this in mind, we conducted a study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice(KAP) of Bio-medical waste management during COVID-19 among health care workers in a tertiary care hospital of Bihar. Methods: This was a hospital-based descriptive, observational study conducted in JLNMCH, Bhagalpur in the month of November and December, 2020. Written consent was taken and pre-defined questionnaire was prepared. Convenience sampling was done to select the participants representing almost all departments of the hospital. Results: 120 participants took part in the questionnaire based study. The study showed that nearly two third participants had adequate knowledge about biomedical waste management. Most of them had positive attitude and they were practicing proper methods of waste disposal too. But, there were gaps in the knowledge, attitude and practice. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to strictly implement biomedical rules in all the health facilities. There should be regular orientation programmes for all health workers.