Impact of Interventions on Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices related to Bio- Medical Waste Management for Covid – 19 in Non-Health Care settings – A Community Based online study in India

Abstract

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of Interventions on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices related to Bio-Medical Waste
Management for Covid – 19 in Non-Health Care settings in community in India.
METHOD: A cross -sectional study over a period of ten months i.e., Nov 2020 to August 2021 was done in various
communities in non-hospital setups online in India by a team of students voluntarily who were concerned
about the cause during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study group included a total of 200 contacts people in
non-healthcare setups like residential complexes, beauty salons, restaurants, shops etc. A questionnaire
survey was designed on google form with initial information and consent to participate in the study. This
was circulated online to the study group and the responses were graded as satisfactory (more than 50%),
and unsatisfactory (less than 50%). Various knowledge and awareness material and trainings for Bio-
Medical Waste Management for Covid 19 including a creation of a blog on website ‘Apashisht’, Audio-visual/
PowerPoint presentations, E- posters and Instagram posts were created. Links to the website and other
information and training material were circulated to various responders online on their mail IDs, or their
contact details. Online one to one interaction was done to impart knowledge and discuss challenges. Yellow
coloured Bio Hazard Labelled Waste Disposal Bags were distributed free of cost to households with Covid
positive patients by raising funds and donations to promote segregation of Covid- 19 waste from general
waste. A post intervention survey in form of the questionnaire was done after one month and the pre and
post training responses were compared and analysed. The results were statistically evaluated using a paired
t test with p value < 0.5 as significant.

Results: A total of 184 people consented to participate in the study and responded to the Questionnaires which
were evaluated. Pre training Questionnaire Evaluation revealed a marked lack of knowledge amongst all
categories and all genders of people especially those who were not employed. Major lacunae were noted in
areas of Waste Categorisation, Disposal & Segregation. Post Interventions a repeat survey was done to which
only 82 responses were received. Interventions had a significant impact with improvement in deficit areas.
Conclusion: Training and Awareness for all levels of people in non-Health Care Setups is urgently needed and can
significantly impact the level of knowledge, attitude and practices for proper Bio -Medical Waste Management
in Covid-19 pandemic.