Impacts of health education on knowledge and practice of hospital staff with regard to Healthcare waste management at White Nile State main hospitals, Sudan
Abstract
Objectives: The present study aims at assessing nursing and sanitation staff knowledge and practice regarding Healthcare Waste (HCW) management before and after the implementation of an educational intervention program at the main hospitals of the White Nile State in Sudan.
Methodology: Quasi-experimental study design was applied to assess the impact of an intervention program on knowledge and practice regarding HCW management. The same questionnaire used in the pre-test was used immediately after the end of the intervention program and then again three months later for a second post-test.
Â
Results: The results showed that the majority of nursing and sanitation staff had fair knowledge regarding HCW management before the educational intervention program (17% good, 58% fair, and 25% poor). After implementation of the educational program, the majority had good knowledge (56% good, 34% fair, and 10% poor) in the immediate post-test, and also in the post-test three months later (59% good, 35% fair, and 6% poor). More than half the nursing and sanitation staff had fair level of practice before the educational intervention program (42% good, 55% fair, and 3% poor). After the implementation of the intervention program, the immediate post-test showed a similar result (45% good, 54% fair, and 1% poor), while the post-test three months later showed that the majority demonstrated good practice level (55% good, 42% fair, and 3% poor).
Â
Conclusion: The nursing and sanitation staff at the main hospitals of the White Nile State in Sudan recorded significant improvement in their knowledge and practice with regard to HCW management immediately after the educational intervention program and three months later.
Â
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).