EFFECTIVENESS OF TARGETED TRAINING IN TRANSFORMING BIOMEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOURS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
Main Article Content
Keywords
Biomedical waste management, Training effectiveness, Knowledge-attitude-practice, Healthcare workers, Infection control, Tertiary care hospital.
Abstract
Amidst the unrelenting global burden of healthcare-associated infections, persistent deficits in knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) across heterogeneous staff cadres undermine infection prevention and control (IPC) efforts. This quasi-experimental study scrutinised the transformative potential of a streamlined two-day educational intervention in bolstering IPC KAP among nurses, laboratory technicians, and sanitary workers within a resource-intensive tertiary care milieu.
Methods: A Quasi-experimental pre-post interventional type study was conducted with 422 participants (nurses: n=295; sanitary workers: n=113; lab technicians: n=14). Baseline and post-intervention (4 weeks) assessments used validated questionnaires (Knowledge: 14 items; Practice: 13 items; Attitude: 15 items). Paired t-tests assessed within-group changes, while one-way ANOVA with Tukey/Bonferroni post-hoc tests examined between-cadre differences. Assumptions (normality, homogeneity) were verified, with robustness to violations confirmed.
Results: Overall, significant improvements were observed: knowledge increased from 10.1 (95% CI: 9.9–10.2) to 11.2 (11.0–11.4; p<0.001); practice from 8.8 (8.6–9.0) to 9.7 (9.6–9.8; p<0.001); attitude from 9.8 (9.5–10.0) to 10.2 (9.9–10.5; p=0.004). Nurses showed largest gains (e.g., knowledge +1.4; p<0.001), while sanitary workers improved significantly in practice (+1.4; p<0.001). ANOVA revealed post-intervention knowledge (F=27.56, p<0.001) and attitude (F=8.52, p<0.001) differences, primarily between nurses and sanitary workers (Tukey p<0.001). Moderate effect sizes (Cohen's d=0.46–0.47) supported intervention efficacy.
Conclusion: This intervention robustly amplified IPC KAP across cadres, decisively narrowing entrenched disparities and unlocking equitable safeguards against infection transmission. We champion scalable, cadre-tailored training paradigms—prioritising lower-echelon staff—to perpetuate these transformative gains, heralding a paradigm shift toward resilient, low-burden healthcare ecosystems.
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Dr Lokesh Mukut Vaishnav
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sudha Medical College and Hospital, Kota, Rajasthan, India; Email ID: drvasihnavlokeshm@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0002-6091-5275
Dr Sonu Garg
Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Sudha Medical College and Hospital, Kota, Rajasthan, India; Email ID: gargsonu017@gmail.com, ORCID: 0009-0000-0654-5552
Dr Shubham Girdhar
Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sudha Medical College and Hospital, Kota, Rajasthan, India; Email ID: shubhamgirdhar87@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0002-4784-5129
Dr Abhishek Upendra Joshi
Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, Maharashtra, India, Email ID: drabhijo19@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0002-1892-5242
