Assessing the ease of use of a biohazard disposal technique: Pouch Technique

Abstract

Objectives: Aim: Assess the efficacy, safety and sufficiency of current disposal techniques used for biohazard items by dental students and Drs in the dental clinic in relation to the pouch disposal technique. Objectives: To assess the disposal practices of biohazard waste as a baseline in the dental clinic, followed by the use and feedback of the pouch technique. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional, study with the use of a questionnaire. 10 students and 5 Drs were present in the sample size. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the results. Results: It is clear from the results that both the students and the Drs dispose of biohazard waste in a normal bin. At service rendering the Drs only dispose of masks and gloves in the biohazard bin. 20% expose gloves in biohazard bin and 80% in the normal bin. 20% dispose of masks only in the biohazard bin while the rest dispose of them in both the biohazard and normal bins. The majority of the Drs dispose of cotton pellets, gauze and aprons in the normal bin and suction tips in the biohazard bin. 90% of the students dispose of masks in the biohazard bin and 10% in the normal bin. The majority of the students dispose of cotton pellets, gauze, aprons and suction tips in the biohazard bin. 90% of the students dispose of ampules in the normal bin. According to the result, the same students and Drs dispose of specific items in both normal and biohazard bins. Conclusions: 13 people out of the 15 people would make use of the biohazard disposable pouch technique whereas the 2 people, that won’t make use of it, are students. Their motivation was that they think it would cause more contamination and won’t be pleasant for the patient if it is visible. It is clear that the majority of the people who used time as their motivation, were students and one student thought that it would be more convenient. All of the people who used safety as their main concern are Drs working in service rendering. The use of a disposable pouch is an effective, efficient, and cost-effective way to ensure the safe disposal of infectious waste and to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.