Evaluation of bio medical waste management practices in select health care facilities of Karnataka, India -

Background: Health care sector has expanded to a great extent in both private and public sectors to cater to the needs of the increasing population of the country. Mismanagement of bio medical waste can expose health care personnel and public to various potential hazards. Methods: Cross sectional study was conducted during September- November 2014 to assess current practices of Bio- Medical waste management (BMW) among the health care facilities (HCF) that had participated the selected districts level training program. Two stage sampling method was used to select eight districts and 15 HCFs in each district of Karnataka. An observational check list was used to observe macro and process areas of BMW. Results: Efficiency of each of the process of waste management was calculated by using a scoring system. A total of 116 HCF were observed-9 large, 17 medium and 90 small. Segregation efficiency was poor in 22 (24.4%) small HCFs. Disinfection was practiced in 50% of the locations observed in small HCFs. The storage efficiency was excellent in 56.3% and 57.7% among medium and small HCFs respectively. No containment of sharps was observed in 34.7%, 23.4%, 26.8% locations of small, medium and large HCFs respectively. Final disposal of waste was managed by common treatment facility in 88.8% of large and 88.2% of medium sized hospital respectively. Conclusions: Practices of bio medical waste management need to be improved at all levels.