Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU 2022; 12(02): 126-133
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1736273
Original Article

A Comparative Study on the Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception toward Hazardous Medical Waste Produced at Home in a Coastal City of Karnataka, India

Prajna Narayan
1   Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Ankeeta Menona Jacob
1   Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Pranav Shetty
1   Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Preethika Singh
1   Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Introduction Hazardous healthcare waste produced at home contributes to approximately 0.5% of biomedical waste, and although potentially infectious, is often discarded with other domestic wastes. The study aimed to quantify and compare types and patterns of biomedical waste generated in homes and to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding biomedical waste among selected urban and rural households in the coastal area of Mangalore city in Karnataka.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in households consisting of rural and urban field practice areas of a tertiary care hospital in coastal Karnataka from November 2017 to February 2018. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire on knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding healthcare waste generated at home was assessed. Qualitative variables of the waste segregation practice, types of biomedical waste, the knowledge, perception, and attitude to practices regarding biomedical waste were expressed in percentages proportions and analyzed using SPSS v.20.

Results Baby diapers were the most common hazardous waste. The number of baby diapers produced daily in rural and urban areas was 32 (42.7%) and 64 (85.3%), respectively. The urban households had better knowledge of possible hazardous healthcare waste at home, 28 (37.33%) compared with 7 (9.3%) in rural households. Seventy-one (94.7%) urban and 49 (65.3%) rural households had a favorable attitude toward the disposal of hazardous domestic biomedical waste.

Conclusion The knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding hazardous healthcare waste produced at the household level were better among urban households compared with rural households.

Keywords

refuse disposal - medical waste disposal - condoms - menstrual hygiene products - domestic biomedical waste


Publication History

Article published online:
24 October 2021

© 2021. Nitte (Deemed to be University). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India

 

  • References

  • 1 Meenakshi P. Elements of Environmental Science and Engineering. 2nd ed.. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India; 2012: 324
    Google Scholar
  • 2 Chaves LC, de Campos LMD, Filipini R. et al. Potentially hazardous waste produced at home. Int Arch Med 2013; 6 (01) 27
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Manasi S, Uma Mani K. Latha. Biomedical Waste Management: Issues and Concerns - A Ward Level Study of Bangalore City. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Bangalore: The Institute for Social and Economic Change; 2014: 26
    Google Scholar
  • 4 Sharma A. Toxics alert: malady of household biomedical waste new awakening beckons? Toxics Alert-an environment news bulletin [Internet]. 2013 ; 45. Accessed December 1, 2018 at: http://enews.toxicslink.org/feature-view.php?id=24
    Google Scholar
  • 5 Sachdeva S. Biomedical waste and solid waste management draft rules, 2015: a comment. Int J Health Allied Sci 2016; 5 (02) 129-132
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Toolkit for implementation of solid waste management rules, 2016 [Internet]. Central Pollution Control Board. 2017 . Accessed October 30, 2019 at: http://www.npcindia.org.in/npc/Files/delhiOFC/EM/Toolkit-kit-on-Solid-waste-management.pdf
    Google Scholar
  • 7 Udofia EA, Gulis G, Fobil J. Solid medical waste: a cross sectional study of household disposal practices and reported harm in Southern Ghana. BMC Public Health 2017; 17 (01) 464
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Barnett-Itzhaki Z, Berman T, Grotto I, Schwartzberg E. Household medical waste disposal policy in Israel. Isr J Health Policy Res 2016; 5 (48) 48
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Bhaskar B, Nidugala H, Avadhani R. Biomedical waste management–knowledge and practices among healthcare providers in Mangalore. Nitte Univ J Health Sci 2012; 2 (01) 35-36
    Google Scholar
  • 10 National Urban Health Mission. National Health Mission, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Accessed July 28, 2021 at: http://nhm.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=970&lid=137
    Google Scholar
  • 11 Cussiol Nde M, Rocha GHT, Lange LC. Gravimetric characterization of potentially infectious material in urban solid waste in southern Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil [Article in Portuguese]. Cad Saude Publica 2006; 22 (06) 1183-1191
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Mamady K. Factors influencing attitude, safety behavior, and knowledge regarding household waste management in Guinea: a cross-sectional study. J Environ Public Health 2016; 2016: 9305768
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar