Knowledge and attitudes on medical waste management among Belgrade medical and dental students

Introduction/Objective Knowledge and practical skills in medical waste (MW) management are of equal importance for medical and dental doctors. The first comparative study on the knowledge and skills in the field of MW management among Belgrade students was conducted with the goal of examining whether students of medicine and dentistry are equally familiar with this extremely important field. Methods A cross-sectional study included 558 students of the sixth year of studies (430 medical and 128 dental students) who completed an anonymous semi-structured questionnaire to determine attitudes and knowledge on MW management. Results The majority of medical and dental students had no training in MW management (79.5% and 74.6%, respectively). Dental students use protective equipment more frequently than medical students (94.5% vs. 42%, p < 0.001). However, full vaccinal protection against hepatitis B is better among medical students compared to dental students (57.7% vs. 39.1%, p < 0.001). Complete knowledge on post-exposal prophylaxis is better among medical students compared to dental students (44.5% vs. 13.3%, p < 0.001). However, dental students are more disciplined in reporting injuries (63.1% vs. 52.4%, p = 0.038). The students' knowledge on primary separation of infectious waste (93% vs. 77.8%, p < 0.001) and used needles (80.3% vs. 70.4%, p = 0.007) is better among dental students compared to medical students' correct answers. Conclusion Dental students show better knowledge on MW management and are more disciplined in using personal infection protection compared to medical students. The students support continued training on MW management and investigations on this topic.