Health Workers' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices regarding Health Care Waste Management: The Case of Primary Public Health Care Facilities in Nifas Silk Lafto Sub City

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to assess health workers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice (KAP) about Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) in the Nifas Silk Lafto sub-city. A facility-based cross-sectional study of 254 healthcare workers was conducted. A stratified random sampling method and quantitative analysis were used. The overall KAP score of the study participants was 78.9% having adequate knowledge, 92.7% having a good attitude, and 63.4% having a good practice score. The highest adequate knowledge score was noted among laboratory personnel (99.7%), followed by health officers (98.4%), and the least was noted among nurses (60.5%). Cleaners had the lowest positive attitude, at 89.5%, while laboratory professionals had the highest, at 98.9%. The highest "good practice" score was among laboratory professionals (72.5%), followed by medical doctors (70.8%), while the least was among cleaners (44.2%). Information sources, the assigned infection prevention committee, educational level, work experience, working section, and healthcare workers’ profession were factors associated with the KAP of healthcare workers about HCWM. Generally, the overall KAP was unsatisfactory, and a great discrepancy was seen among healthcare workers regarding their knowledge, attitude, and practice level. The government shall work on the availability of guidelines, visual aids, policy manuals, basic training, sufficient PPE, color-coded waste bins, and infrastructure for waste storage, treatment, and disposal, and studies should be conducted to overcome the problems.