Abstract
Background: Healthcare waste requires specific disposal according to colour-coded containers at any health provider. This is stipulated in various legislative policies in South Africa. The policies were developed to give guidance and procedure for waste management. This involves how waste is handled in a manner that does not cause harm. Knowledge of the legislation based on having been trained or not trained among healthcare workers is imperative to perform correct handling and disposal methods.
Objective: The study aimed to assess the knowledge of waste legislation among healthcare workers in a government hospital in Mpumalanga.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional was conducted in a health facility in Mpumalanga among healthcare workers. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample size of 205 participants who were selected using stratified random selection. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS software version 26. The logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios, to assess for an association between the dependant variable (trained or not trained) and independent variables (socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitude to training, knowledge of healthcare waste legislation and the application of legislation in daily practices).
Results: The mean age of participants was 39.57 (standard deviation of 8.9) years. Those aged between 21-30 years had reduced odds of not being trained, odds ratio (OR) OR 0.40, CI (0.14 -1.5). Male participants had increased odds of not being trained adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.01, CI (1.01-4.04)). Nurses had reduced odds of not being trained (OR 0.30, CI (0.10-70). Senior staff members had a protective effect of not being trained (OR 0.28, CI (0.12-0,70). Those participants who indicated that training is done quarterly were less likely not to be trained AOR 0.01, CI 95% (0.001-0.95). Those who did not notice a difference in disposal practices in their sections had increased odds of not being trained (OR 138.18 CI (39.62-481.5). Participants who did not have any knowledge of the OHS Act, Act 85 of 1993 were more likely to be trained (OR 12.08, CI 9(5.87 -24.89), while those who were not aware of the NEMA: Waste Act from a list, were less likely to be not to be trained AOR 0.53 CI (0.16- 0.17)). Participants who were not knowledgeable about the container to dispose of sharps were more likely to be not trained AOR 4.11, CI (1.53 – 11.03)). Similarly, those who selected “No” for selecting the correct container to dispose of
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pathological waste (OR 21. 80 CI (10.00 – 47.50) and container for infectious waste OR 3.70, CI (1.50 – 9.20) were more likely to be not trained.
Conclusion: The study's results created an understanding of the associations to the knowledge of healthcare waste legislation among healthcare workers. Waste training must be revised to address the associated variables, increase knowledge in healthcare waste legislation, and improve handling and disposal practices.
Keywords: knowledge of healthcare waste legislation; healthcare waste training; knowledge and attitude to healthcare waste, application of healthcare waste legislation.