Introduction: Medical waste management is critical for infection control, environmental protection, and safe healthcare delivery. This study was conducted to determine the attitudes and behaviours of nursing students regarding medical waste management.
Materials and Methods: This study’s sample consisted of 349 nursing students studying at a university in Turkey who agreed to take part in the research. Data were collected through face-to-face surveys during the spring semester of 2024-2025. Descriptive Characteristics Form and Medical Waste Attitude and Behavior Scale were used to collect the data.
Results: The mean age of the study participants was 21.05±1.82 years; 78.2% were female, and 30.4% were third-year students. 60.1% of the students stated that they received training on infection control, and 54.9% found the training partially sufficient. Students scored an average of 88.92±16.45 points on the Medical Waste Attitude and Behavior Scale. A statistically significant difference was found between the mean scores of the scale according to the student's class, finding their knowledge about medical waste management sufficient, having the opportunity to observe medical waste management practices during a clinical internship, thinking that medical waste harms the environment and human health, and thinking that medical waste management is mandatory for health service delivery (p<0.05).
Discussion and Conclusion: The study found that nursing students had above-average scores on the Medical Waste Attitude and Behavior Scale, demonstrating a positive attitude and behavior. In this context, it is recommended that applied training should be strengthened and clinical guidance services should be provided to increase students' knowledge and skills in medical waste management.