KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS, AND PRACTICES REGARDING BIOMEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2017.v10i8.19101Keywords:
Biomedical waste management, Health hazard, Knowledge, Attitude, Dental students, Practices, Waste disposalAbstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, awareness, and practices of dental students regarding biomedical waste (BMW)management.
Methods: A self-administered structured questionnaire consisting of 16 questions on knowledge, awareness, and practices about BMW managementwas distributed among 100 students randomly belonging to 3rd year, final year and intern students of Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha University,Chennai. The data extracted were tabulated, statistically analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and results obtained. The data were analyzed using ANOVAtest (all the results are calculated at 1% level of significance) and Post-hoc test.
Results: Overall, 67% respondents were aware of the existing BMW management policy systems in India. 62% of students were aware about thecorrect color coding management system for hospital waste management that prevails in India. 86% of students knew about the dental wastecategories of materials used in dentistry. There was a statistically significant difference of knowledge levels among the 3rd year, final year students andthe interns. 100% practice discarding sharps in the puncture-proof containers. Only 27% of the respondents discarded the extracted tooth in a properway. Only 51% of them have attended previous training programs on dental waste management. There was also a statistically significant difference ofBMW disposal practices among the three groups.
Conclusion: The majority of dental students in our study have good level of knowledge and awareness regarding BMW management in dental clinics.However, their practice toward BMW disposal was poor. Hence, the knowledge acquired must be put into practice. Intern students have the highestlevel of knowledge and practices toward dental waste disposal when compared to final year and 3rd year students. Hence, these findings imply thatproper training, continuing education programs, and short-term courses about BMW management, and infection control procedures are requiredto motivate the dental students and dental auxiliaries. The importance of training regarding BMW management must be emphasized as the lack ofproper and complete knowledge about BMW management impacts practices of appropriate waste disposal.
Downloads
References
Government of India. Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling)
Rules, 1998. Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (II). The
Gazette of India. No.460. New Delhi: Government of India; 1998.
Sood AG, Sood A. Dental perspective on biomedical waste and mercury
management: A knowledge, attitude, and practice survey. Indian J Dent
Res 2011;22(3):371-5.
Zia A, Ullah I, Ali S, Zia M, Mathew S, Fatima K, et al. Prevalent
risk factors of HCV transmission in health care workers (HCWS) in
Pakistan. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2015;7(11):365-70.
Mathur P, Patan S, Shobhawat SA. Need of biomedical waste
management system in hospitals - An emerging issue - A review. Curr
world Environ 2012;7(1):117-24.
Charania ZK, Ingle NA. Awareness and practice of dental care
management among dental practitioners in Chennai city. J Contemp
Dent 2011;1(1):15-21.
Sudhir KM. Awareness and practices about dental health care waste
management among dentists of Davangere city, Karnataka. J Indian
Assoc Public Health Dent 2006;8:44-50.
Bansal M, Vashisth S, Gupta N. Knowledge, awareness and practices
of dental care waste management among private dental practitioners in
Tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali). J Int Soc Prev Community
Dent 2013;3(2):72-6.
Sanjeev R, Kuruvilla S, Subramaniam R, Prashant PS,
Gopalakrishnan M. Knowledge, attitude, and practices about
biomedical waste management among dental healthcare personnel in
dental colleges in Kothamangalam: A cross-sectional study. Health Sci
;1(3):1-12.
Mathur V, Dwivedi S, Hassan M, Misra R. Knowledge, attitude, and
practices about biomedical waste management among healthcare
personnel: A cross-sectional study. Indian J Community Med
;36(2):143-5.
Chudasama RK, Rangoonwala M, Sheth 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.
Manchanda K, Fotedar S, Dahiya P, Vats A, De Sarkar A, Vats AS.
Knowledge, attitude, and practices about biomedical waste management
among dental healthcare personnel in dental colleges in Himachal
Pradesh: A cross-sectional study. SRM J Res Dent Sci 2015;6(3):166-9.
Bangennavar BF, Gupta A, Khullar S, Sukla N, Das A, Atram P.
Biomedical waste disposal: Practice, knowledge, and awareness among
dentists in India. J Int Oral Health 2015;7(11):53.
Pandit NB, Mehta HK, Kartha GP, Choudhary SK. Management of biomedical
waste: Awareness and practices in a district of Gujarat. Indian
J Public Health 2005;49(4):245-7.
Madhukumar S, Ramesh G. Study about awareness and practices about
health care wastes management among hospital staff in a medical
college hospital, Bangalore. Int J Basic Med Sci 2012;3:7-11.
Narang RS, Manchanda A, Singh S, Verma N, Padda S. Awareness of
biomedical waste management among dental professionals and auxiliary
staff in Amritsar, India. Oral Health Dent Manag 2012;11(4):162-8.
Khatoon KF, Akkifuddin S. Awareness of dental auxillaries in
biomedical waste disposal: A survey. J Adv Med Dent Sci Res
;3(1):40.
Bennadi D, Reddy V, Thummala NR. Preventive and curative measures
adopted by dentists to combat occupational hazards-a cross sectional
study. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2015;7(10):416-8.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
The publication is licensed under CC By and is open access. Copyright is with author and allowed to retain publishing rights without restrictions.
