Background: Medical waste is hazardous posing serious threats to environmental health and requiring specific treatment and management prior to final disposal. The problem is growing with an ever-increasing number of hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic laboratories in Nigeria, yet there is dearth of information for planning an effective intervention. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of medical waste management among healthcare workers at a General hospital in Anambra, Nigeria. Methods: Stratified sampling technique was used to select consenting study participants viz: doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, and healthcare attendants, who work in the in the 70-bed capacity secondary healthcare centre in the state. Results: Mean age of the participants was 30+ 7 years. Ten (10) doctors, 20 nurses, 8 pharmacists, 6 laboratory technicians and 36 healthcare attendants were recruited for the study. Segregation of waste at source was known by 80%, 70%, 50%, 90%, and 5.6% of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians and healthcare attendants respectively. All the doctors and nurses, 75%, 66.7% and 35% of pharmacists, laboratory technicians and healthcare attendants respectively were aware of the hazardous consequences of improper medical waste handling. However, the real practice of medical waste management was poor among the respondents and majority of them had not received training on the subject. Conclusion: Lack of adequate training on healthcare waste management may be responsible for the improper waste management practices observed in the health facility. Thus, on the job training program and monitoring is needed for all staff, with special emphasis on healthcare attendants.
