Staff Nurses’ Knowledge and Commitment toward Hospital Waste Management

Abstract

Medical waste refers to all types of waste produced by healthcare activities, while biomedical waste can be generated in hospitals, research institutions, healthcare teaching institutes, clinics, laboratories, blood banks, animal houses and veterinary institutes. Hospital wastes include infectious wastes and non- infectious wastes; it could also be categorized into hazardous and nonhazardous waste. Waste management involves all the activities and actions required to manage waste from inception to final disposal. It should be strictly followed by all health team members including the nurses who should possess the required knowledge and skills to deal properly with waste. The present study was aimed at assessing staff nurses’ knowledge and commitment toward hospital waste management. It was conducted at Sirs Elian hospital, El- Monoufyia governorate using descriptive design on all available 184 staff nurses in all units in the setting. A selfadministered questionnaire sheets was used to collect data regarding nurses’ demographic characteristics, their knowledge of hospital waste management, and their related