Hospital solid waste management and occupational hazards for nurses

Abstract

Introduction: The pillars to optimize health both in the public and environmental environment of countries worldwide are found in the adequate hospital residual management. Objective. To determine the relationship between hospital solid waste management and occupational risk in nurses of a provincial hospital in Peru. Method. Non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational design. Participants were nurses who responded to two instruments validated by expert judgment with a Richardson K value of 0.825 and a Cronbach's alpha of 0.803. Results. The main results identify an optimal management of solid waste with 61.5% and in occupational risk 65.4% of nurses have a high level. According to Pearson's R statistical test, a correlation coefficient of 0.546 was obtained and with a significance value of less than 0.01. Conclusion. There is a degree of direct, high and significant relationship between solid waste management and nurses' occupational risk. Therefore, better management of the use of solid waste will reduce the risks of occupational accidents of nurses in the emergency department of the hospital.