Personality and socio-demographic antecedents of self-reported hospital waste management of health workers in a Nigerian Tertiary Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Hospital waste has become one of the most challenging healthcare issue facing hospitals and other health care providers in Nigeria due to the high risk of infection and damage to the environment. Research on hospital waste management often ignores behavioural and contextual factors. This study was conducted to examine the role of personality and socio-demographic variables on the hospital waste management behaviour of health workers in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, South-Western Nigeria. The study sample comprised 209 health professionals in different units/wards of the hospital. The selection of respondents was done using a convenience sampling technique. Data collection for the study was done by means of a self-reporting questionnaire that measures the socio-demographics, personality traits and hospital waste management behaviour of respondents. Multiple regression and analysis of variance were used to test the data collected from the field. The results revealed that personality traits contribute significantly to hospital waste management. It also showed that only marital status out of the socio-demographic variables contribute significantly to hospital waste management. The study stressed the need for hospital management to conduct periodic sensitization programmes among health professionals on the hazards associated with improper handling of health care waste.

Keywords: health care providers, health professionals, hospital waste management, personality, socio-demographic variables