Halder Nabanita, Peshin Sharda Shah, Pandey Ravindra Mohan, Gupta Yogendra Kumar
Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Department of Biostatistics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Toxicol Ind Health. 2015 Dec;31(12):1144-51. doi: 10.1177/0748233713488237. Epub 2013 May 22.
Mercury, one of the most toxic heavy metals, is ubiquitous in environment. The adverse health impact of mercury on living organisms is well known. The health care facilities are one of the important sources of mercury release into the atmosphere as mercury items are extensively used in hospitals. To assess the awareness about mercury toxicity and the knowledge of proper handling and disposal of mercury-containing items in health care set-up, a questionnaire-based survey was carried out amongst doctors (n = 835), nurses (n = 610) and technicians (n = 393) in government hospitals, corporate hospitals and primary health care centres in the Indian states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The study was conducted using a tool-containing pretested structured multiple-choice questionnaire. Analysis of the results using STATA 11.1 software highlighted that overall awareness was more in corporate sector. However, percentage range of knowledge of respondents irrespective of health care sector was only between 20 and 40%. Despite the commitment of various hospitals to be mercury free, mercury containing-thermometer/sphygmomanometer are still preferred by health professionals. The likely reasons are availability, affordability, accuracy and convenience in use. There is an urgent need for source reduction, recycling and waste minimization. Emphasis must be laid on mercury alternative products, education and training of health personnel and public at large, about correct handling and proper clean up of spills.
汞是毒性最强的重金属之一，在环境中广泛存在。汞对生物的健康产生不利影响是众所周知的。医疗机构是汞排放到大气中的重要来源之一，因为医院广泛使用含汞物品。为了评估医疗保健机构中对汞毒性的认识以及对含汞物品正确处理和处置的知识，在印度德里、北方邦和哈里亚纳邦的政府医院、私立医院和初级卫生保健中心，对医生（n = 835）、护士（n = 610）和技术人员（n = 393）进行了一项基于问卷的调查。该研究使用了一个包含经过预测试的结构化多项选择题的工具。使用STATA 11.1软件对结果进行分析后发现，总体而言，私立部门的认识更高。然而，无论医疗保健部门如何，受访者的知识百分比范围仅在20%至40%之间。尽管各医院承诺实现无汞化，但含汞温度计/血压计仍受到卫生专业人员的青睐。可能的原因是其可用性、可承受性、准确性和使用便利性。迫切需要减少汞源、进行回收利用并尽量减少废物产生。必须强调汞替代产品，对卫生人员和广大公众进行关于正确处理和妥善清理汞泄漏的教育和培训。
