Beyond the Bin: Examining Risk Perception in Medical Waste Management

Expanding healthcare services has increased medical waste production, which poses health and environmental risks. To avoid these risks, healthcare workers (HCWs) should have a high‐risk perception, deep knowledge, and adherence to safety guidelines regarding medical waste management (MWM). The study aims to assess HCWs’ risk perception, knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) in MWM. It also aims to examine the relationships between these variables and investigate the predictors of HCWs’ risk perception in Jordanian hospitals. The study implemented a cross‐sectional, descriptive, and correlational design with a proportional stratified sampling technique. The total number of participants was 492 HCWs in Jordanian public, military, private, and educational hospitals. The study data were analyzed using descriptive, correlation, comparative, and regression analyses. The analyses revealed positive risk perception ( M  = 76.2, SD = 6.79), knowledge ( M  = 30.7, SD = 4.27), attitude ( M  = 32.2, SD = 2.84), and practice ( M  = 29.3, SD = 4.17) among participants. There were also positive relationships between risk perception and MWM KAP. Additionally, knowledge, practice, job position, and hospital type were the statistically significant predictors of risk perception (Adj R 2  = 0.184, F  = 13.23, p   < 0.01). Hospital type, job position, knowledge, and practice were key predictors of risk perception in this study. Efforts should focus on strengthening the policy framework and improving MWM training among HCWs, which will help protect public health and the environment.