Evaluation of waste knowledge levels of staff and students working in a school of dentistry, in Van, Turkey, in 2019

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Various types of harmful wastes, which may or may not be contaminated with body fluids, result from health care services. When dental clinics are improperly managed, various environmentally hazardous wastes emerge. This study aims to determine and compare the knowledge levels of academic and dental health personnels and dentistry students and reveal the need for education. METHODS: The study was conducted face-to-face with 90 people, consisting of 4th and 5th-grade students studying at dentistry school, assistant professors, research assistants, nurses, and cleaning staff. The statistical significance level was set at 5% in calculations and SPSS statistical software was used for calculations. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between the study participants when their waste knowledge levels were evaluated by gender and work experience. Significant differences were found between the study participants when their waste knowledge levels were evaluated by their education level and according to their roles (P < 0.05). Waste knowledge levels of individuals with an undergraduate or post-graduate degree were found to be higher than primary or high school graduates. The knowledge level of the cleaning staff was found to be significantly lower than all other groups. CONCLUSION: The results reveal the need to update the medical waste knowledge of all health care occupations, especially the cleaning staff, at regular intervals, regardless of their work experience.