Knowledge and practices of ward attendants regarding biomedical waste management

“BIO MEDICAL WASTE” is any waste, which is generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings. This waste is also generated during research activities or in the production or testing of biological material. Today, there is increasing demand for the broader level of knowledge and skills to handle the waste from doctors, nurses, ward attendants, sweepers, laboratory technicians and all others working in the hospitals. For safe Bio medical waste management hospital workers should be familiar with the rules and regulations, practices of biomedical waste management. Inadequate and inappropriate knowledge of handling of healthcare waste may have serious health consequences and a significant impact on the environment as well. A quantitative research approach with a descriptive research design was selected to assess the knowledge and practices of ward attendants regarding biomedical waste management in G.G.S Medical Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab. Total enumerative sampling was done and all the 60 subjects were selected. A socio demographic sheet, a questionnaire and a self reporting checklist was selected. Ethical permission to conduct study was obtained from the concern institutional ethical committee. The results of the study revealed that the majority of ward attendants had average knowledge and had good practices. There is a positive relationship of knowledge and practices with demographic variables i.e. with age and educational qualification.