MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN TERTIARY HEALTH FACILITIES IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA: AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF HEALTH WORKERS

Abstract

Aim: To assess the attitude and practice of medical waste management among health workers in 
tertiary health institutions in Benin City, Edo State.
Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study amongst health workers in tertiary health 
facilities in Benin City who were selected using stratified sampling technique. Pre-tested interviewer 
administered questionnaires were used for data collection and data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS 
21.0.
Results: A total of 280 health workers participated in the study. Over three quarters of the respondents 
241 (86.1%) had a positive attitude towards medical waste management (MWM) and majority 267 
(95.4%) had good practice of medical waste management. Determinants of attitude and practice were 
occupation of respondents (p = 0.035) and attitude of respondents (p = 0.004), respectively. 
Conclusion: Majority of the respondents had positive attitude and good practices of medical waste 
management. It is recommended that healthcare workers comply with the established rules regarding 
proper medical waste management.