Background: The sterilization cycle is one of the most important parts of infection control. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to assess the quality of steam sterilization and compare the knowledge, attitude, and practice of clinical directors in dental clinics, based on the experimental work in one of the most important and famous dental departments and clinics in the Northeast of Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2017 in 84 dental outpatient clinics of Mashhad, Iran. The status of sterilization quality was evaluated using biological (BI) and chemical indicators (CI) and the results of a questionnaire. The participants include the technical manager and operator of the Autoclave, who were included in this study according to the inclusion criteria by stratified cluster sampling. Information on their knowledge, practices, and attitudes were evaluated. Also, BI and CI were used to evaluate the autoclave accuracy. The data were analyzed by Mann Whitney U, Wilcoxon signed-rank, and Fisher’s exact tests using SPSS (Version 19, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
Results: In this study, the results of 69 (82.1%) biological test were negative. Based on the questionnaire results, 64 (76%) clinics used CI, and only 4 (5%) clinics used CI and BI to evaluate the sterilization quality. The mean scores of attitude (P = 0.001), knowledge (P = 0.001), and practice (P < 0.001) of the technical manager in dental clinics were significantly higher than those in outpatient clinics. Also, there was a significant association between the knowledge and practice of the clinics’ technical managers (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: According to the results, 93.3% of the clinics that had a positive biological test were outpatient clinics. Also, it was revealed that insufficient knowledge, attitude, and practice lead to imperfect sterilization. Also, the mean score of dentists was higher than that of general practitioners, therefore, in addition to suggesting training programs for managers, it is recommended that employ a dental practitioner as the technical manager of outpatient clinics. In order to control infection in clinics, it is recommended to monitor the sterilization process in clinics according to the instructions of the monitoring units.

Background: Awareness, knowledge, and attitude towards waste management, environmental factors of waste disposal sites and citizens’ as well as waste generators’ behaviors should be considered for implementing a waste segregation plan at the source.
Methods: The statistical population of this cross-sectional study includes 150,000 households living in Kerman. The sample size is calculated as 444 individuals using a stratified sampling method considering a 15% withdrawal probability. The correlation between Kerman citizens’ demographic data (age,
gender, mean income, and household head’s educational level) and behavioral patterns (knowledge and awareness, attitude and behavior) regarding waste management and environmental factors of waste disposal sites was evaluated using SPSS software.
Results: Examining the variables indicates that attitude, environmental factors, behavior, awareness, and knowledge have the highest mean and standard deviation, respectively. The highest mean score of awareness and knowledge was observed among individuals who earned 40 million IRR and higher income (2.55 ± 0.24) and those who had a PhD degree (2.63 ± 0.27). The results show that one unit increase in the score of awareness and knowledge, attitude and environmental factors could increase the mean behavior score.
Conclusion: Teaching the households waste-related environmental issues and how to properly separate recyclable waste as well as providing correct information regarding the current (COVID-19 period) and future plans and policies of the waste management organization, and developing suitable motivational mechanisms could improve the performance level of a society.

Background: Being exposed to high noise levels can cause hearing loss. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) concerning basic school noise exposure and hearing loss among teachers.
Methods: This study was done using a set of questionnaires to assess KAPs related to noise exposure and hearing loss among 276 full-time basic school teachers in Ghana from January to October 2023. Pearson’s Chi-square analyses were done to determine the significance of the association between the dichotomized KAP domains and categorical variables. Also, binary logistic regression analyses of the risk factors for the dichotomized KAP were done.
Results: 77.9% had poor knowledge, while 22.1% of the teachers had good knowledge regarding noise exposure and hearing loss. 76.1% demonstrated negative attitudes regarding the significance of noise reduction within the school environment, audiometry, and the adoption of hearing protection devices. 23.9% of teachers had positive attitudes. 66.3% exhibited bad practices concerning audiometric testing, the supply and utilization of hearing protection devices, and health and safety training, while 33.7% adhered to commendable practices. There was an insignificant association at the 5% significance level between the dichotomized KAP domains and the categorical variables. Gender, age, and experience were all risk factors for dichotomized KAP.
Conclusion: Only a few of the basic school teachers had good knowledge (22.1%), positive attitudes (23.9%), and good practices (33.7%) to prevent occupational hearing loss. Therefore, there is a need to implement awareness and preventive programs.