Biomedical Waste Management-Related Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices among Clinical Dental Undergraduates in State of Punjab in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Dental operatories generate a large amount of biomedical waste, and improper management of this waste poses a threat to all sections of society. Hence, being a dental practitioner, one must ensure proper management and handling of health care waste. Aims and Objectives This study aims to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices toward Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, and Amendments, 2018 and 2019, among clinical undergraduates in dental colleges of the state of Punjab in India. Settings and Design A cross-sectional study. The study was performed among 845 clinical undergraduates in dental institutes of Punjab. Materials and Methods The methodologies used were descriptive statistics and nonparametric techniques using the Kruskal–Wallis test and Dunn–Bonferroni post hoc test. Results Only 47% dental students have adequate knowledge and 48% students show positive attitude toward biomedical waste management. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Whereas, only 34% students were practicing these rules in the correct manner and this is found to be statistically insignificant. Also, the city of Ludhiana is the model district for the implementation of the Environmentally Sound Management of Medical Wastes project by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and dental students of institutions involved in this project were found to be most aware about these rules among other institutes in Punjab. Conclusion The current study suggests that the knowledge and implementation of biomedical waste management practices among dental students in the state of Punjab are not adequate. It also suggests that including dental institutions in model projects of biomedical wastes will raise awareness regarding the same exponentially.