Journal of

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Background: Hospital waste is one of the environmental problems .Ignoring the proper management of these wastes can lead to outbreak of diseases and epidemics which threat the public health and rise high costs as a result. This study is aimed to assess the level of staff awareness and hospital performance concerning waste management in selected hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2010. Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical study. The data were collected by distributing a multipartite Likert scale questionnaire among 351 individuals which had been used to measure hospital awareness and performance. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software. Among Descriptive tests Chi-Square test was used to determine the correlation of qualitative variables and Pearson correlation coefficient was used for quantitative variables. The significance level was considered at 0.05. Results: Significant differences had been seen among different professions` level of awareness .There were no significant difference among different hospitals ` average awareness level although there were significant statistical differences among each hospital`s performance level (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: Due to relatively poor status of hospital`s waste management and hospital staff `s performance , better planning for proper management and wastes `excretion is needed to achieve sustainable development, public health protection and the environmental preservation. Staff Training and their performance monitoring and improving is one of the most important factors of hospital waste management plan success.

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Background: There are various departments in hospital that produce hazardous, infectious, pathological and radioactive wastes. Utilizing proper methods of waste management is of high priority in order to prevent from releasing these wastes to environment. This study aimed to evaluate waste management efficiency in Karaj hospitals.

Material & Methods: This cross - sectional study was conducted in Karaj during 2011-2013. All hospitals of Karaj had been selected as statistical population of this study (n=8) by census. The data had been collected by separating and weighting produced hospital wastes for 4 month (during one week at each month) and filling related checklists of health ministry. Collected Data had been analyzed using SPSS software.

                               

Results: The daily capita of waste was 4.1 kg per active bed, 5.6 kg per occupied bed  and 9.4 kg per patient. The overall percentage score of present status of hospital waste management was assessed 88% and in 12% which indicate moderate and weak levels respectively. Hospital waste management had been evaluated weak in terms of collection, transportation and personnel but seen from the viewpoint in the separation and temporary storage, it was assessed moderate. However, in terms of disposal, assessment of hospital waste management showed it is in a desirable status.

Conclusion: The present status of hospital waste management was far beyond the expectations  among studies hospitals. Thus, developing an operational plan and monitoring its implementation is highly recommended to. Given the main weakness of hospital waste management was related to production, collection, separation, and transportation, taking these areas consideration  is of high priority.