Health professionals' knowledge of hospital waste sorting and storage

The nature, diversity, and hazardousness of hospital waste (HW) require specific management procedures. Specific interventions on HW are imperative for modern societies, imposed by public and environmental health policies. The health institutions strategic management plan integrates HW management policies considering a social technic perspective process in their institutional strategic management plan, taking into account a sociotechnical perspective, based on related good practices. Sorting is one of the most critical phases for effective management in reducing risks of generated hospital waste, more specifically at the generation site. Health professionals play an important role in this process since they participate in sorting in different contexts of clinical practice. This research aimed to identify the periodicity of contact of different health professionals such as nurses, doctors and medical assistants (MA) with HW, and their knowledge regarding the practices of sorting and storing of HW. An observational, descriptive, and correlational cross-sectional study was developed. Data were gathered through a questionnaire applied to a sample of 1800 health professionals recruited from a Hospital Center in Porto (Portugal). Results showed that from the 79% of health professionals who were in contact with HW, 68.7% had adequate knowledge about sorting practices. Health professionals presented more doubts in sorting and storing wastes from Groups III (Biological Hazard HW) and IV (HW of obligatory incineration).