Opinion Of Health Workers On, And Their Safety Practices In Connection With The Handling Of Medical Wastes At A University Teaching Hospital In South East Nigeria

Abstract

Context Health care institutions are service-oriented establishments that provide observational, diagnostic, research, therapeutic and rehabilitative services. These facilities are involved in the generation of large amount of solid wastes on a per capita basis. Accidental and hospital acquired infections may be consequent upon ignorance, and careless handling of medical wastes. Objective This research work was conducted to determine the awareness and practices associated with the handling of medical wastes at a University Teaching Hospital. Method This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital among health workers, multistage sampling technique and the data were collected with structured, self-administered questionnaires. The quantitative Data obtained from the study was collated and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10 software. Results Four hundred and eighty six (486) health workers were recruited into the study, out of whom 36% were females and 62.3% of the participants were married. Polythene bags (39.9%) were the commonest means of collecting hospital wastes. Waste segregation is not practiced at all in the hospital. Refuse truck (71.8%) was the most frequent means of transporting hospital waste while open van was the least used (28.2%). Conclusion Standard practices in handling medical wastes were not adhered to, hence health education towards safe practices is recommended.

Keywords: Awareness, Practices, Medical Wastes, Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.