Factors associated with appropriate health-care waste management among nursing professionals

Abstract

Objective: investigate the factors associated with appropriate Health-Care Waste (HCW) management among Nursing professionals. Method: cross-sectional, analytic study involving 461 professionals at a public, state-owned hospital in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil, between June 2014 and January 2016. Results: 40.13% were between 30 and 39 years, 92.84% were women, 63.99% had < 12 years of education, 50,3% possessed 1-5 years of experience on the job, 63.99% performed the HCW management appropriately, 27.99% used all PPE during the waste segregation. Improper HCW management was associated with ages between 30 and 39 years (p=0.010), the category nursing technician (p=0.013) and the inappropriate definition of HCW (p < 0.001). Conclusion: professionals between 30 and 39 years of age, nursing technicians and professionals unable to define HCW were associated with inappropriate HCW management.