الفهرس 
AbstractOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Biomedical waste is unwanted materials that contains potentially infectious elements and generated during diagnosis, treatment, operation, immunization, or in research activities. The management of healthcare waste is great importance due to its potential environmental hazards and public health risks. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge and practices of nursing staff regarding biomedical waste management at rural health units in Tanta city. Research design: Descriptive study design was utilized to fulfill the aim of this study. Setting: This study was conducted at 14 rural health units affiliated to Tanta district. Sample: All the available nursing staff working (325) at the previous mentioned settings was included in this study. Tool of the study: A structured questionnaire sheet was used and included three parts: (1) Socio-demographic characteristics of the studied nursing staff, (2) Nurses’ knowledge regarding biomedical waste and its management (3) Self-reported practices of nursing staff regarding biomedical waste management. Results: More than two fifths (43.4%) of the studied nurses had low knowledge regarding biomedical waste management and more than half of them (60.6%) had unsatisfactory reported practice. Conclusion: there was highly statistically significant positive correlation between total knowledge score and total reported practice score of the studied nurses regarding biomedical waste management (p < 0.001). Recommendation: Safe waste management policies and guidelines should be applied and available in all health care units and maintain continuous assessment of nurses’ knowledge and practice toward waste management in health care units is essential to identify nurses training needs.