Health Care Waste Management and Associated Factors During Covid-19 Pandemic Among Public Health Facilities in Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: During the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, also known as the COVID-19 pandemic, developing and poor African countries face severe challenges in controlling infectious trash. As a result, the goal of this report is to assist decision-makers in determining the waste management approach accessible during the COVID-19 epidemic. OBJECTIVE: To assess health-care waste management and associated variables in public health institutions in Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia, during the covid-19 pandemic. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was undertaken at public health facilities in the Hadiya zone from March 15 to March 30, 2021. The information gathered was entered into EpiData software (version 3.1). SPSS software was used to conduct the analysis (version 20). We computed descriptive statistics. At 95% confidence intervals, a p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant for health care waste management. RESULTS: A total of 411 people participated, with a response rate of 97.8%. The overall proportion of acceptable health care waste management was 231% (56.2%). In multivariable logistic regression, study participants with 5 years of service were 1.59 times more likely than their counterparts to handle health care waste appropriately (AOR 95% CI=1.59(1.02–2.48)). Those who received waste management training were 1.94 times more likely than their counterparts. Those who had enough PPE were 2.14 times more likely than those who did not to handle health care waste appropriately (AOR 95% CI=2.14(1.35–3.34)). CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION: The proportion of acceptable health care waste management was found to be low in the study. Service year, waste management training, the availability of suitable personal protective equipment (PPE), and prior waste-related injury experience are all required. It is advised that health-care facility administration offer training and personal protection equipment for healthcare workers.