To investigate the management and knowledge and attitude of rural primary health-care workers (Behvarz workers) about waste management of rural health centers in villages of Salmas

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Medical waste management is one of the most important health and environmental challenges worldwide, especially in developing countries such as Iran. Health personnel play a key role in medical waste management. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the status of waste management in health centers and the knowledge, attitude and practice of rural health worker in its management in Salmas city. Materials and Methods: The current study was conducted in 2018 to investigate the status of medical waste management and knowledge, attitude and practice of rural health worker in its management in Salmas city in 12 rural healthcare facilities, 63 rural health houses through completing 106 questionnaires. We used a checklist for gathering data about the waste management. Also, the questionnaire of medical waste management, specialized for health stuff, developed by Taghipour, were used to gather information about knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP). Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to evaluate the normality of the data. To investigate relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice, Chi-square and Fisher's exact test were used. Data were analyzed by using SPSS-24 software. Significance level was considered 5% in all tests. Results: In this study, 36 (33.9%) health workers were male and 70 (66.1%) were female. The mean scores of knowledge, attitude and practice were 3.64, 6.01 and 3.21, respectively. The knowledge score 3-4 was 91.7% for women and 61.4% for men. Health workers in the age group of 30 to 39 years had a higher attitude score compared to other age groups. More than 20 years’ work experienced participants had a higher attitude score. The age group of 50 years and older also had a higher attitude score compared to other age groups. The results of Pearson correlation test showed that there is a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude, and between knowledge and practice. Conclusion: According to results, it is necessary to make a critical review of the waste management methods, provide regular programs and disinfection equipment before final transmission and disposal. Also, awareness, training and providing health rules and instructions needs to be considered to meet more effective participation of stuff. Keywords: Waste Management, Health House Waste, knowledge, Attitude and Practice, Salmas County, rural health worker