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Knowledge and Practice of Health Workers about Healthcare Waste Management in Public Health Facilities in Eastern Ethiopia

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Abstract

Healthcare waste management (HWM) problems are growing with an ever-increasing number of hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories, etc in Ethiopia. Health workers are one of the key personnel who are responsible for the proper management of healthcare wastes at any health facilities. However, this performance will depend the level of knowledge and practice regarding waste management. A facility based cross-sectional study design was applied on 400 health workers. All public health institutions inside Jigjiga town were included and the study participants were randomly selected from each health facility. Data were collected using pre-tested and self administered questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with knowledge and practice of health workers. Out of those involved in this study, 47.7% and 42.3% of respondents had good knowledge and good practice on healthcare waste management, respectively. Health workers in the age group of 35–44 years, nurses, midwifes, medical laboratory, were significantly associated with knowledge of health workers. On the other hand, only educational status was significantly associated with practice. In this study, both knowledge and practice of health workers about healthcare waste management was poor. To enhance both the knowledge and practice of health workers, on job training is recommended.

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Acknowledgements

Authors of this study would like to thank the respondents for their time and willingness to supply valuable information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O.Box 235, Harar, Ethiopia

    Tadelle Doylo

  2. College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O.Box 1517, Harar, Ethiopia

    Tadesse Alemayehu

  3. College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O.Box 235, Harar, Ethiopia

    Negga Baraki

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  1. Tadelle Doylo
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  2. Tadesse Alemayehu
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  3. Negga Baraki
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Correspondence to Tadesse Alemayehu.

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Doylo, T., Alemayehu, T. & Baraki, N. Knowledge and Practice of Health Workers about Healthcare Waste Management in Public Health Facilities in Eastern Ethiopia. J Community Health 44, 284–291 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-0584-z

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