Journal of South Asian Association of Pediatric Dentistry

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VOLUME 5 , ISSUE 1 ( January-April, 2022 ) > List of Articles

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Dental Health Care Professional Toward Biomedical Waste Management During COVID-19

Meera Choudhary, Aswini Y Balappanavar, Shikha Gupta, Sujoy Ghosh, Meera Verma

Keywords : Biomedical waste management, COVID-19, Medical waste disposal

Citation Information : Choudhary M, Balappanavar AY, Gupta S, Ghosh S, Verma M. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Dental Health Care Professional Toward Biomedical Waste Management During COVID-19. J South Asian Assoc Pediatr Dent 2022; 5 (1):3-10.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10077-3212

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 29-03-2022

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2022; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: Dental practices produce large amounts of biomedical waste (BMW); improper disposal of which can cause harm to us and the environment. Amidst the corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the scenario had further worsened with piles of personal protective equipment (PPE) accumulating in the hospitals. It is important to carry out proper disposal of BMW in order to break the chain of infection. Hence, this study was carried out to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of dental healthcare professionals about important aspects of BMWM and its amended guidelines during COVID-19. Method: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out among a convenient sample of dental professionals in a tertiary care dental center which was also a sampling center for COVID-19. A total of 107 participants returned back the questionnaire which was sent through mail. The questionnaire was validated. The subjects were followed up telephonically. Results: The knowledge, attitude, and practice scores for all subjects were 2.01 ± 3.306, 3.62 ± 1.40, and 3.81 ± 1.22, respectively, and were found to be significant on ANOVA test. The difference in knowledge and attitude score and knowledge and practice score among subjects was found to be significant on Turkey HSD post hoc test. Among sociodemographic characters, the difference in knowledge score was significant between males and females and between graduate and postgraduate. Conclusion: Although the knowledge score is less for all subjects, the attitude and practice scores suggest a positive response of study subjects toward BMWM. It is, therefore, necessary to carry out periodic training of the healthcare professionals to reinforce the basic knowledge.


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