Frequency of occupational health hazards and factors responsible among the waste handlers at the tertiary care hospitals of Karachi

Background & Objectives: Hospital waste handlers (HWHs) are in contact with contaminated waste that put them at risk for occupational health hazards. The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of occupational health hazards and identify factors contributing to them among the HWHs at tertiary care hospitals of Karachi Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted from January 2021 till June 2022 on 417 conveniently selected HWHs of the public and private tertiary care hospitals of the Karachi including three Public sector hospitals (Civil Hospital Hospital) using a structured questionnaire. Chi Square test was applied to determine the differences in occurrence different groups of age, gender, type of hospitals and status of being trained in Hospital Waste Management (HWM). Results: Around half of the HWHs (52.6%) labeled the bins of the waste according to their level of hazard. Only 17.9% disinfected the infected waste. The proportion of participants who experienced needle stick and sharp injury in the last six months was 16.3% and 15.8% respectively. Majority of them used disposable gloves (95.7%) and face masks (94.3%). One thirds had access to aprons while only 10.5% had access to protective shoes at their work place. HWHs of private sector were significantly less likely to experience Needle stick injuries, skin symptoms, cough, breathing difficulty and throat burning. Conclusion: The HWM practices in tertiary care hospitals of Karachi is far from being satisfactory. HWHs must be trained and monitored for safe disposal of waste.