Perceived risk and associated factors of healthcare waste in selected hospitals of Kathmandu, Nepal

BACKGROUND: Healthcare waste management is the subject of a neglected issue in many developing countries. Health care facilities are facing a major challenge in handling healthcare wastes and reducing their potential risks to human health and the environment. Insufficient understanding of the risk associated with healthcare waste by health workforce can contribute to poor waste management practices. The main aim of this study is to assess risk perception towards healthcare waste among hospital attendants and to identify associated factors. METHODOLOGY: We carried out a cross-sectional hospital-based study among 120 attendants of a private and public hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. We used two-stage random sampling for the selection of hospital and participants. We conducted a face-to-face interview with the participants using semi-structured questionnaires. Based on the mean score, we classified risk perception as good and poor. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was carried out to determine associates of risk perception towards healthcare waste. RESULTS: Approximately 51.0% of hospital attendants had poor risk perception of healthcare waste. Nearly half of the participants (49.2%) had inadequate knowledge and 43.0% had a negative attitude. Factors such as healthcare waste management training (p = 0.028), housekeeping department (p = 0.036) and attitude (p = 0.001) were associated with risk perception of healthcare waste. CONCLUSION: Hospital attendants had a poor understanding of risk perception of healthcare waste. Periodic training on healthcare waste management and edification on the risk associated with healthcare waste is essential to boost awareness among all healthcare workers. Communication on behavioral improvements for appropriate waste management must be prioritized to change the perception of health workers.