Norouz Mahmoudi - Student Research Committee and Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Health Faculty, Baqiyatalla University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mojtaba Sepandi - Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohsen Saffari - Health Education Department, School of Health, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Nematollah Jonaidi Jafari - Health Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Healthcare wastes are a major challenge in public health and comprise all types of wastes generated by healthcarecenters, research facilities, and laboratories. The aim of this study was surveying the knowledge and practice ofnursing staff about sharp waste management in selected military (Tehran) and non- military (Qom) hospitals in2012. This was a descriptive-analytical study on 143 nursing stuff in Military and Non-Military hospitals. Data wascollected using a self-report questionnaire. Statistical tests such as the student t-test, one-way analysis of varianceand Pearson correlation were used to data analysis. The mean age of participants was 32(±6.3) and the majority werefemale. The mean score of knowledge was 54.7(±14.4) and their knowledge classified on a moderate level. Also, themean score of practice was 65.44(±11.6) and was classified on a moderate level. The means of these variables werehigher among personnel of Military than Non-Military. There were positive correlations between knowledge,practice and age variables (P<0.05). The findings showed that there is a considerable deficiency about knowledgeand practice of the participants’ in study, from fundamentals of desirable management of sharp waste. As a result,the design and performance of proper educational programs are suggested for them

Knowledge, Practice, Nursing Staff, Sharp Waste, Hospital Waste Management, Military Hospital