Safe Management Of Health Care Waste Research Articles

Healthcare waste management practice and its predictors among health workers in private health facilities in Ilu Aba Bor Zone, Oromia region, South West Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

ObjectivesA lack of safe healthcare waste management (HCWM) practice poses a risk to healthcare staff, patients and communities. In low-income countries like Ethiopia, studies on the level of safe HCWM...

Performance of Healthcare Facilities of Different Levels towards Safe Healthcare Waste Management as Linked to Infection Prevention and Control Standards in Tanzania

The aim of this study was to ascertain performance of Healthcare Facilities on safe healthcare waste management practices. To achieve this, a national assessment was conducted country wide to assess performance of various healthcare practices related to waste materials management, WASH, and Hygiene practices as linked to infection prevention and control. The assessment of healthcare waste management in the facilities was conducted in all the 26 regions of Tanzania Mainland for one month. A standardized checklist and tools were used to assess and monitor various aspects related to healthcare waste management using open source software for data collection (ODK). Data were analyzed using SPSS computer software. It was observed that most of permanent staff (88%) in the Healthcare facilities had knowledge on hand hygiene, but the gap was observed to the waste handlers (12%) who were not equipped with the hand hygiene knowledge. About 89% of the hand washing stations were available at mortuary units, followed by 75% at main entrance and the lowest was 3% at waste zone areas of the healthcare facilities. Hand washing materials like soap were mainly found at theaters (64%) followed by mortuary (60%) and last at waste zones. The assessment concludes that handling of healthcare wastes is not practiced to the expectations, and there is a need to strengthen the situation. The findings provide evidence for those engaged in improving HCF conditions to develop evidence-based policies and efficient programs, enhance service delivery systems, and make better use of available resources.

Assessment of knowledge and practices of healthcare waste management among health workers in a general hospital in southern Nigeria

Background: Poor management of health care waste exposes healthcare workers, waste handlers and the community to infections, toxicity and injuries. The objective of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and practices of HCW management among health workers in a general hospital in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 158 health workers. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire, checklist for a facility walk-through assessment and a key informant interview and analysed using STATA statistical software version10.0Results: The majority (88.6%) of the respondents had good level of knowledge of HCW management and its effect on health. More than half (58.9%) of the respondents had good HCW management practices. Predictors of poor knowledge of HCW management were lack of training on HCW management (OR 0.24, 95%CI 0.06-0.95, P=0.04) and not seeing instructive posters on health care waste management (OR 0.16, 95%CI 0.04-0.64, P=0.01). Being a nurse (OR 0.15, 95%CI 0.04-0.59, P=0.007) and not seeing an instructive HCW management poster (OR 0.26, 95%CI 0.12-0.57, P=0.001) predicted poor practice of HCW management. All wards had sharps containers and waste bins which were not of the standard colour coding. Thirty percent of the waste bins had lids.Conclusion: Training and seeing of HCW management posters predicted knowledge and practice. Hence periodic training, supervision and display of instructive posters is vital in ensuring good knowledge and practice of safe health care waste management in health facilities to reduce the risk of infections and injuries to workers and the general public.

Field lessons in surveying healthcare waste management activities in Pakistan.

Developing countries face difficulties in implementing safe healthcare waste management (HWM) practices. It is important to holistically probe the ground situation to meet this challenge. This study aimed to examine HWM practices in public and private healthcare institutions in Pakistan. In this study we surveyed 12 public and private hospitals in a major city of Pakistan, Gujranwala. The survey consisted of waste characterization as well as targeted interviews using standardized questionnaires. The results indicated issues including lack of waste segregation, lack of sufficient knowledge and awareness regarding HWM and a high prevalence of Hepatitis C among hospital housekeeping staff. We also discovered that organizational and administrative solutions for effective HWM are as important as preventive monitoring and control. Apart from technical improvement, behavioural changes are vital for a positive change regarding HWM. Overall, this study led to an increased awareness of public health issues related to HWM that had hitherto gone unnoticed by hospital staff as well as relevant public authorities in the city.

KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF STAFF NURSES RELATED tO HEALTH CARE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Background: The management of healthcare waste is great importance due to its potential environmental hazards and public health risks. The safe management of healthcare waste may be achieved by ensuring care in dealing with the healthcare waste. Hence it is the ethical responsibility of management of hospitals and health care providers especially staff nurses. Aim: The present study aimed to assess knowledge and practice of staff nurses related to health care waste management in El-Zohor hospital. A descriptive study was utilized .Subjects & Method: sample of 110 nurses. Data were collected using a knowledge questionnaire sheet and an observation checklist for assessing the practice of the staff nurses. Result: The results revealed that the majority of nurses had satisfactory knowledge regarding health care waste management and had adequate practices in most areas of waste management. Conclusion: The findings pointed to a statistically significant correlation between nurses’ knowledge and practice regarding healthcare waste management. Recommendation: A close monitoring, to ensure the application of safety regulations in waste handling continuously.

Role of National Policy in Improving Health Care Waste Management in Nigeria.

Background.As Nigeria strives to improve health services nationwide, there is a corresponding increase in laboratory testing, care and treatment activities, producing more healthcare waste that must be safely managed. In the past, Nigeria lacked an enabling environment for healthcare waste management, as it did not have a national health care waste management policy. However, in 2013 a policy and strategic plan for healthcare waste management was developed to address this problem.Objectives.The present study performed an environmental safeguard audit to determine the level of implementation of the 2013 national policy in the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. We also sought to determine whether the 2013 national policy has had an impact on healthcare waste management.Methods.The present study was conducted in 1921 health facilities, selected using the probability proportional to size sampling method.Results.The present study found that 44.8% of health facilities surveyed had healthcare waste management work plans adapted from the 2013 national policy. In addition, 89.2% of health facilities segregated waste. This is an important improvement, as previous studies reported that there was little to no waste segregation at health facilities. Furthermore, 41.4% of health facilities had designated persons or units handling healthcare waste, in contrast to previous studies which found no designated person or unit responsible for healthcare waste. However, the quality of healthcare waste management varied across states and health facilities.Discussion.Following the introduction of healthcare waste management policy, health facilities in Nigeria have improved waste management practices. However, training, availability of required tools and functional governance structures are essential to the implementation of an effective healthcare waste management policy.Conclusions.The study findings show that safe healthcare waste management can be implemented if the government leads by providing policy and required resources, while health facilities put standard operating procedures in place to guide day to day healthcare waste management operations.Participant Consent.ObtainedEthical Approval.The protocol was approved by the National Health Research Ethics Committee of Nigeria.Competing Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.

In-service training Program for Housekeepers Regarding Safe Health Care Waste Management at Main Assiut University Hospital

In-service training Program for Housekeepers Regarding Safe Health Care Waste Management at Main Assiut University Hospital

Healthcare Waste Management: The Current Issue in Menellik II Referral Hospital, Ethiopia

Healthcare wastes generated in Hospitals from medical activities have not given sufficient attention. In developing countries, healthcare wastes are still handled and disposed indiscriminately creating an immense threat to the public health and the environment. This situation is much worse in Ethiopia where there is paucity of convincing evidence about healthcare waste generation rate and management system. A crossectional study was conducted in Menellik II hospital to evaluate the healthcare waste management system. Primary data on the healthcare waste management system was collected using observational checklist. Key informant interview guide was also employed on 11 selected informants to assess waste management practice and analyzed by thematic framework. The results revealed that there was no segregation of healthcare waste by type at the point of generation and disinfection of infectious waste before disposal. The main HCW treatment and disposal mechanism was incineration using low temperature, single chamber incinerator; open burning; burring in to amputation pit and open dumping on municipal dumping site as well as on the hospital back yard. Furthermore, there was negligence, attitudinal problem and low level of awareness about safe healthcare waste management. To diminish the risk of healthcare waste on public health and environment, a cost effective interventions include providing better medical waste management facilities, adherence to national regulatory and rising awareness of all concerned need to adopt in the hospital.

The Reality of Liquid Medical Waste Management in Damascus Hospitals.

Large quantities of hazardous medical waste are deposited into hospitals wastewaters and these substances could negatively impact public health if not handled properly. The authorities in the Syrian Arab Republic have realized the seriousness of the problem and have issued a number of laws, guidelines and standard specifications relating to this issue since 2004. This study offers a detailed review of these documents and compares them with related World Health Organization publications. A questionnaire was designed based on the national guide for safe management of healthcare waste in order to investigate the reality of liquid medical waste management in a sample of hospitals in Damascus. The questionnaire was subsequently distributed and collected during April and May 2015. The study found that there are a number of negative points in these guidelines as well as several weaknesses in their implementation. The study calls for intensifying efforts to strengthen guidelines; monitoring the possible health problems that could arise due to weak implementation;and proposes a number of suggestions to improve the management of medical liquid waste in hospitals.

Healthcare Waste Generation and Management in Public Healthcare Facilities in Adama, Ethiopia.

Over the past few years there has been rising production of hazardous byproducts, including dioxins, furans, and mercury from indiscriminate handling and treatment of healthcare waste. This situation is worse in developing countries where there is a serious lack of reliable data on factors such as generation and characteristics of healthcare waste. To investigate healthcare waste generation and current management practices of public healthcare facilities in Adama, Ethiopia. All departments and sections in studied healthcare facilities (one referral hospital and four health centers) were examined for the characterization and determination of healthcare waste generation based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Wastes were collected and measured daily for seven consecutive days. Plastic buckets and bags of different colors were used for different types of wastes. Plastic bags were removed every morning and their weights were measured every day at 8 am using a scale. The average daily generation of healthcare waste from studied health centers ranged from 0.02 to 0.03 kg/patient/day, and the average daily waste generation of Adama referral hospital was 1.23 kg/bed/day. The healthcare waste generation rate was statistically different across the health service delivery sectors (p < 0.001). The proportion of hazardous healthcare waste generated in Adama referral hospital and health centers was 34.9% and 75%, respectively. There was no segregation of healthcare waste by type at the point of generation or pre-treatment of infectious waste in the studied healthcare facilities. Open pit burning and single chamber incinerators were the most utilized final treatment methods. Furthermore, there was a low level of awareness about safe healthcare waste management. The overall findings of this study indicate that the proportion of hazardous healthcare waste generated from the studied healthcare facilities was above the threshold set by the WHO. There is a lack of proper waste management systems in all public healthcare facilities in Adama, Ethiopia. Awareness raising activities on proper healthcare waste management should be undertaken targeting all healthcare workers.

Development and implementation of healthcare waste management policy at Civil Service Hospital, Nepal

AbstractOver the last 5 years, the Civil Service Hospital (Nepal) has dealt with various serious health hazards including infectious diseases and other important risks. A management committee was appointed to develop a healthcare waste management policy in 2013. The policy deals with the management of safety issues associated with occupational hazards, as well as raising public awareness of the importance of proper waste management. Safe management of healthcare waste enhances patient safety and promotes occupational safety. This policy was categorised into three chapters: preliminary discussion, organisational and managerial aspects and occupational health and safety. The policy was implemented in several phases. During the first phase, medicine, orthopedics, gynecology, obstetrics and paediatric services were targeted, while the second phase included the surgical, post‐operative and haematology wards, the high care unit and emergency and laboratory departments. The third phase involved the pharmacy, out‐patient department and hospital administration, while the fourth phase eventually included the whole hospital. Development of this policy was guided by Government of Nepal Solid Waste Management Act 2011 and the World Health Organisation Guidelines.

Sustainable healthcare waste management: a qualitative investigation of its feasibility within a county in the south west of England

This paper aims to investigate the possibility of safely and lawfully employing a sustainable reduce, reuse, recycle philosophy in the management of waste within healthcare settings. Climate change presents significant threats to our wellbeing on a global scale and provides a new challenge for healthcare organisations. As the United Kingdom’s biggest public sector employer, the National Health Service has enormous power to mitigate the impact of climate change by implementing sustainable practices. One area in which sustainable practices could be employed is within healthcare waste management. The investigation used a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with 20 participants responsible for the safe management of healthcare waste in an English county. Interviews indicated that topics such as knowledge, the environment, finance and legislation influence attitudes and behaviour in healthcare waste management. Participants were clear that from financial and environmental perspectives an aim to reduce, reuse and recycle waste in health care was desirable. Attempts to implement sustainable healthcare waste management practices, informed by a sustainable waste management philosophy are desirable both financially and environmentally. Research is needed to explore behaviour, attitudes, learning, knowledge and the role of the environment in healthcare waste management.

Management of health-care waste in Izmir, Turkey.

The aim of this study was to evaluate health-care waste in the 18 districts of metropolitan municipality of the third biggest city in Turkey. This cross-sectional study was carried out with 825 health institutions established in the 18 districts of Izmir metropolitan municipality, in 2007. The total amount of health-care waste collected was 4841 tons and 621 kilograms per patient's bed in 2007. Most of the medical wastes were collected from Konak, Karsiyaka and Bornova districts and were 2308, 272 and 1020 tons, respectively. Regarding to overpopulation, the number of health institutions in these districts are more than the number of health institutions in the other administrative districts. There was a statistically significant, positive correlation between the amount of health-care waste collected and population of the 18 districts (r = 0.79, p < 0.001), and number of beds/patients (r = 0.83, p < 0.001). To provide a safe health-care waste management metropolitan municipality must provide hazardous waste separation in health institutions, establish sterilization units for infectious waste, and provide the last storage of medical waste in completely different, safe and special areas apart from the municipal waste storage areas.

Safer injections, fewer infections: injection safety in rural north India

Unsafe injection practices result in a substantial burden of preventable blood-borne viral disease (BBV). The reasons are complex and include structural, economic and socio-cultural factors. To describe injection-related practices in two rural north Indian health settings including the contextual factor, highlight some of the challenges facing those endeavouring to translate injection safety policies into safe injection practice, and to identify appropriate intervention strategies. Qualitative data collection (participant observation and in-depth interviews) in two rural north Indian hospitals with affiliated community-based programmes over a 4-month period. A total of 130 h of observation took place in a range of clinical areas characterized by frequent use of needles and other sharps, and 40 healthcare workers were interviewed. Field notes and interview transcripts were thematically analysed. Managers in these health settings were clearly endeavouring to promote injection safety by implementing the widespread use of disposable needles and syringes and attempting to address the difficult issue of safe healthcare waste management. However, some unsafe practices were still occurring: reuse of syringes (with and without sterilization) was relatively common, and use of multi-dose vials, blood sampling, sterilization and disinfection, and healthcare waste management were sub-optimal in some instances, placing both staff and patients at unnecessary risk of BBV infection. Strategies for promoting injection safety are necessary if the risk of nosocomial transmission of BBV diseases via unsafe injection practices in rural north India is to be minimized.