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This is a Cross-Sectional Study study.

October 18, 2025Open Access

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of biosafety and infectious waste management among the laboratory workers at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, Nigeria

Key Points

Positive attitudes towards biosafety and infectious waste management were noted among laboratory workers, but gaps remain in practice.
About 92.5% of respondents had initial training in biosafety and waste management, showing awareness within the workforce.
A structured questionnaire assessed knowledge, revealing 76.3% understood biosafety principles, crucial for ensuring safety.
Regular training is recommended to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice in biosafety and waste management activities.

Abstract

Introduction: Biosafety (BS) and safe infectious waste management (IWM) knowledge are crucial in safeguarding the laboratory and its personnel, as well as preventing the release of biological waste into the environment. At the National Reference Laboratory, infectious waste (both solid and liquid) is generated from laboratories handling Lassa fever, Mpox, diphtheria, pertussis, cholera, cerebrospinal meningitis, measles, rubella, yellow fever, HIV/hepatitis, Covid-19, influenza, etc. Biosafety and infectious waste management practices are influenced by personnel’s attitude; hence, the need for status assessment to enable application of interventions that are suitable for the system. Methods: The study was conducted from January to March 2025 using a cross-sectional descriptive study design. The entire population (n=105) of technical and non-technical laboratory workers was sampled. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 80 respondents participated in the study, with 48 males (60%) and 32 females (40%). Among the respondents, 74 (92.5%) received initial orientation training on biosafety and infectious waste management. Additionally, 76.3% demonstrated an understanding of biosafety, while 63 (78.8%) strongly agreed that proper infectious waste management plays a critical role in reducing environmental and health risks. Regarding self-assessed confidence in BS and IWM knowledge, 38.8% of respondents reported being strongly confident of their BS and IWM knowledge, while 50% reported having a decent confident level of knowledge. Overall, attitudes towards biosafety and infectious waste management were predominantly positive, and observed practices partially conformed with standard operating procedures Conclusion: Significant knowledge exists among laboratory workers, and attitudes are mostly positive; however, some gaps still exist. Notably, informed knowledge will need to be fully translated into safe practices; as such, regular training and retraining of workers on biosafety and infectious waste management are highly recommended.

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