School Health Nurses’ Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Medical Waste Management

Journal of education and research in nursing (Online), cilt.23, sa.3, ss.167-171, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)

Background: Within the scope of health services provided in school settings, medical waste management is crucial for

both environmental health and student safety.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the attitudes and behaviors of school health nurses in Türkiye toward medical waste.

Methods: This descriptive study was conducted between February and April 2025. Data were collected via Google

Forms using the Demographic Information Form and the Medical Waste Attitudes and Behaviour Scale (MWABS). A

total of 158 participants were recruited for the study using snowball sampling, after reaching out to school health

nurses working in Türkiye via social media. The data were analysed using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Krus-

kal-Wallis test.

Results: Of the participants, 90.5% were female, and the mean age was 31.98±9.47 years. Additionally, 57.6% were

employed in the public sector, 46.8% reported that their institutions did not have a medical waste management plan,

and 68.4% had not received training on medical waste management. Nurses working in private schools, those who

had received medical waste management training, and those familiar with waste management procedures had higher

MWABS scores (p<0.05). The mean MWABS score was 94.06±28.77.

Conclusion: School health nurses demonstrated moderate attitudes toward medical waste management. Nearly half of

the schools lacked a formal management plan. Strengthening training programs and implementing waste management

plans are recommended.

Keywords: Attitude, behavior, medical waste, nurses, school health