Evaluation of Healthcare Professionals' Ability to Manage Biomedical Waste in Saudi | Original Article

ABSTRACT:

Mishandling of biomedical waste has, and will continue to be, a serious threat to the health of medical professionals and the general population. The goal of this research was to identify and evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of persons involved in biomedical waste management. A crosssectional approach was adopted for this investigation. Research was done at several medical facilities in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. Health workers in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia, were the study's population. There were 140 total healthcare professionals that took part in the research. Structured questionnaire was used to gather Quantitative data and analyzed using descriptive statistical methods guided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. According to the results, almost all (96.5) healthcare personnel are aware that poor biomedical waste management might pose health risks. Nearly all respondents (97.1) agreed that environmental issues were caused by improper handling of biological wastes. According to the survey, 73.2 percent of respondents said that cremation and throwing biomedical waste into trash cans were the most common ways to dispose of such materials. The findings showed that most employees (80.3). had not gotten proper training on how to handle biological waste. Saudi health care personnel in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia, have a favorable attitude and perspective toward efficient management of health care waste, however they have poor practice when it comes to biological waste. There is a pressing need in Saudi Arabia to establish a unified framework for the collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of biomedical wastes.