Abstract
Healthcare waste represents an important stream of pollutants that impacts on medical personnel and attendees of such facilities. This study examined the quantities of waste generated among 14 different wards and units at the federal medical center, Keffi in Nasarawa state, Nigeria. It also evaluated crucial factors that influence the selection of hospitals by patients as well as the methods employed in waste treatment. The results from the study revealed that an average volume (Kg/bed/day) of 1.97 (Accident & Emergency), 2.27 (Male Medical), 1.71 (Female Medical), 1.79 (Female Surgical), 1.98 (Pediatric), 2.11 (Orthopedic), 1.91 (Lying-in), 1.42 (Amenity), 2.53 (Main theatre), 1.17 (Pediatric surgical), 0.41 (Intensive care unit), 2.03 (Pharmacy), 2.34 (Laboratory) and 4.82 (Labour room). It was established that infectious waste represented the highest rate of hazardous waste (21.3%), while pathological (18.0%), sharp objects (15.8%) and pharmaceuticals (11.4%) represented the sum total of the non-hazardous waste stream. Very strong correlations existed between the Male Medical Ward and Main Theatre (rs 0.9), Female Medical and Female Surgical wards (rs 0.94), Pediatric and Pediatric Surgical wards (rs 0.90), Lying-in and Amenity wards (rs 0.88), Accident & Emergency and Orthopedic units (rs 0.86), with strong correlation between the pharmacy and the laboratory (rs 0.65) and a moderate correlation between the intensive care unit and the Labour room (rs 0.46). The study showed that financial capability was the most important factor that influenced public decision on the choice of the medical center ranked 1, with a relative important index (RII) of 10 in the choice of facilities and methods used to manage waste generated. Other factors in order of importance were ownership of the medical center (2) with an RII of 9 with cultural and social bias ranked as 7 with an RII of 4.
Highlights
Medical wastes emanating from different units within healthcare facilities across developing countries are of great importance owing to their potential public health risks and associated environmental hazards, when inapt waste management techniques are employed [1], [2], [3], [4]
Acquisition of medical waste data was obtained by separately weighing waste at each of the 14 wards/units, namely Accident & Emergency (A&E), Men Medical Ward (MMW), Female Medical Ward (FMW), Female Surgical Ward (FSW), Paediatric Ward (PED), Orthopaedic Ward (ORTH), Lying in Ward (LIW), Amenity Ward (AME), Main Theatre (MT), Paediatric Surgical Ward (PSW), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Pharmacy Unit (Pharm), Medical Laboratory (Lab), and Labour Room (LR) [25]
This suggests that the waste management policy at the medical center, in collaboration with its collaborator; Ecological Fund of Nigeria, had established lean parameters via adequate forecast models that catered for the waste streams generated from all measured units and wards in Federal Medical Center, Keffi
Summary
Medical wastes emanating from different units within healthcare facilities across developing countries are of great importance owing to their potential public health risks and associated environmental hazards, when inapt waste management techniques are employed [1], [2], [3], [4]. Like all other healthcare facilities globally, the generation of medical wastes varies, owing to factors like the specialization, number of hospital beds, seasonal variation, Useh Uwem Jonah et al.: Assessment of Medical Waste Generation at a Medical Center in Keffi Metropolis proportion of patients treated on a daily basis, etc [12]. To this end, quantification and assessment of the rate of medical waste generation has spurn the interest of several researchers, pollution control and environmental enthusiasts. In developing countries, the selection of adequate treatment facilities is harpooned by insufficient data collection [16], [17]
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