Effectiveness of education program on hospital waste management
International Journal of Workplace Health Management
ISSN: 1753-8351
Article publication date: 8 October 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of Kuwait Infection Control Directorate educational program in improving knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of environmental service workers (ESWs) regarding the management of infectious and sharps waste.
Design/methodology/approach
An interventional educational pre-test/post-test study was conducted over seven months, on a sample of 102 ESWs in Farwaniya General Government Hospital, Kuwait. Educational sessions and practical training using the KAP approach were applied during the intervention phase. The KAP of the participants were assessed using a questionnaire and observation checklist in the pre- and post-intervention phases.
Findings
Improvement in all aspects of the KAP regarding infectious and sharps waste management was observed among the participants after implementation of the intervention, with a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-test results (p<0.01).
Originality/value
The applied multi-component educational program in the current study can be successfully implemented for ESWs in all government hospitals in Kuwait and other countries with similar settings.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The necessary official approval was obtained from the Ministry of Health Joint Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research. Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study after they were informed about the objectives of the study and importance of the research. Participants were assured about the confidentiality of the information submitted and the sole use of the study results for the purpose of research. The authors would like to thank all participants for their kind cooperation. The authors are also very grateful to the ESW supervisors for their enthusiasm and hard work in this study.
Citation
Abdo, N.M., Hamza, W.S. and Al-Fadhli, M.A. (2019), "Effectiveness of education program on hospital waste management", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 457-468. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-10-2018-0137
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited