scholarly journals Sustainable waste management of medical waste in African developing countries: A narrative review

2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2110291
Author(s):  
Jade Megan Chisholm ◽  
Reza Zamani ◽  
Abdelazim M Negm ◽  
Noha Said ◽  
Mahmoud M Abdel daiem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Medical Waste Management ◽  
Treatment And Disposal ◽  
The Right

Africa is the second populous continent, and its population has the fastest growing rate. Some African countries are still plagued by poverty, poor sanitary conditions and limited resources, such as clean drinking water, food supply, electricity, and effective waste management systems. Underfunded healthcare systems, poor training and lack of awareness of policies and legislations on handling medical waste have led to increased improper handling of waste within hospitals, healthcare facilities and transportation and storage of medical waste. Some countries, including Ethiopia, Botswana, Nigeria and Algeria, do not have national guidelines in place to adhere to the correct disposal of such wastage. Incineration is often the favoured disposal method due to the rapid diminishment of up to 90% of waste, as well as production of heat for boilers or for energy production. This type of method – if not applying the right technologies – potentially creates hazardous risks of its own, such as harmful emissions and residuals. In this study, the sustainability aspects of medical waste management in Africa were reviewed to present resilient solutions for health and environment protection for the next generation in Africa. The findings of this research introduce policies, possible advices and solutions associated with sustainability and medical waste management that can support decision-makers in developing strategies for the sustainability by using the eco-friendly technologies for efficient medical waste treatment and disposal methods and also can serve as a link between the healthcare system, decision-makers, and stakeholders in developing health policies and programmes.

scholarly journals Analysis of medical waste management and impact analysis of COVID-19 on its generation in Taiwan

2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2199680
Author(s):  
Wen-Tien Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Medical Waste Management ◽  
The Impact

Medical waste management in Taiwan is a crucial issue due to its highly environmental and human health risks. The main objectives of this paper were to analyse the status of medical waste generation and treatment in recent years, and also address the discussions on the impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on its generation in the first half of 2020. It showed that the reported quantities have slightly increased from 35,747 metric tonnes (Mt) in 2016 to 40,407 Mt in 2019, showing an average increase by 4.17%. This rate of increase was consistent with the hospital services. When classified by the reported codes, the C-type waste (infectious waste) accounted for about 89% of the reported quantities, which indicated an annual increase by 4.14% during the same period. In addition, the medical waste treatment in 2019 was mainly dependent on the commissioned treatment (80.18%), followed by the recycling (18.53%) and the self-treatment (1.29%). Furthermore, the impact of COVID-19 on the medical waste generation in Taiwan was not significant in the first half of 2020 compared to the data during the years of 2016–2019. It was indicated that the consistent trend was observed at the daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in Taiwan during this period. Obviously, the reduction in the hospital medical services during the COVID-19 outbreak should be offset by the increase in medical waste generation from the medical services. In order to try to ensure safe and complete destruction of the COVID-19 virus, all the waste generated from the healthcare facilities should be treated in the incineration plants.

Profile of medical waste management in two healthcare facilities in Lagos, Nigeria: a case study

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 494-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibijoke Idowu ◽  
Babajide Alo ◽  
William Atherton ◽  
Rafid Al Khaddar
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Medical Waste Management

scholarly journals Medical waste management

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
Milan Krivokuća
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Reduction Potential ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Economic Advantage ◽  
Integrated Method ◽  
Medical Waste Management ◽  
Hierarchical Management

Medical waste management is of great importance for people and the environment. Irresponsible management and classification of medical waste can lead to environmental hazards and cause health risks to both employees and patients. Traditional waste disposal on landfills are the most common form of waste disposal in our country, although the authors see the most efficient incineration solution as a more appropriate method or an integrated method of hierarchical management from the generation stage to waste treatment, which brings economic advantage and risk reduction potential damages. In order to live in harmony with the environment, the problem of waste disposal must be recognized as one of the important tasks of all structures involved in its creation and disposal.

scholarly journals Awareness and practice of medical waste management among healthcare providers in National Referral Hospital

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0243817
Author(s):  
Zimba Letho ◽  
Tshering Yangdon ◽  
Chhimi Lhamo ◽  
Chandra Bdr Limbu ◽  
Sonam Yoezer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Referral Hospital ◽  
Potential Hazard ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Medical Waste Management ◽  
National Referral Hospital

Introduction The management and treatment of Medical Waste (MW) are of great concern owing to its potential hazard to human health and the environment, particularly in developing countries. In Bhutan, although guidelines exist on the prevention and management of wastes, the implementation is still hampered by technological, economic, social difficulties and inadequate training of staff responsible for handling these waste. The study aimed at assessing the awareness and practice of medical waste management among health care providers and support staff at the National Referral Hospital and its compliance with the existing National guidelines and policies. Materials and methods An observational cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2019. Three research instruments were developed and used; (i) Demographic questionnaire, (ii) Awareness questions, and (iii) the Observational checklist. The data was coded and double entered into Epi data version 3.1 and SPSS version 18 was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to present the findings of the study. Results The majority of the respondents were female (54.1%) with a mean age of 32.2 (±7.67) years, most of whom have not received any waste management related training/education (56.8%). About 74.4% are aware of medical waste management and 98.2% are aware on the importance of using proper personal protective equipment. Only 37.6% knew about the maximum time limit for medical waste to be kept in hospital premises is 48 hours. About 61.3% of the observed units/wards/departments correctly segregated the waste in accordance to the national guidelines. However, half of the Hospital wastes are not being correctly transported based on correct segregation process with 58% of waste not segregated into infectious and general wastes. Conclusion The awareness and practice of medical waste management among healthcare workers is often limited with inadequate sensitization and lack of proper implementation of the existing National guidelines at the study site. Therefore, timely and effective monitoring is required with regular training for healthcare workers and support staff. Furthermore, strengthening the waste management system at National Referral Hospital would provide beneficial impact in enhancing safety measures of patients.

An Investigation Into Medical Waste Management Practices In Hospitals In Northern Peninsula Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1779
Author(s):  
Abdelnaser OMRAN ◽  
Mohammed Khalifa Abdelsalam MOHAMMED
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
The North ◽  
Monitoring And Enforcement ◽  
Medical Waste Management ◽  
Waste Management Practices

The main aim of the study was toinvestigatethe medical waste management practices located in the north part hospitals in Malaysia. The northern part includes (Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Perak States). A questionnaire survey was mainly used for gathering information concerning different medical waste management aspects by identifying training services, segregation, and containers, storage, collection, transportation as well as ward attendants. Forty (40) hospitals (public and private) located in the above-mentioned stateswere targeted. The sample size of the whole study was 250 questionnaires; these questionnaires came from different hospitals where they located in the states of Penang, Kedah, Perlis, and Perak. As results, it was found from the analysis that although training programs were offered in the most places, there were not common centralized areas for training and even not applicable at all by 3.5% within the hospitals surveyed in Penang state accordingly to the administrative questionnaire. However, ongoing training programs either for old or new workers had been not identified. The responsibility for the waste to get segregated obviously not practiced by clear designated staff. Other numbers of problems that hospitals are facing in terms of medical waste managementinclude lack of sacks which are not totally subjected to tear, lack of provisional measures carried out to prohibit liquids running out from waste and not enough protective gear were used by workers. From the results of this study, it was clear that medical waste had not received sufficient attention according to WHO recommendation standard. Therefore, it was concluded that the majority of the examined areas had shown lack of practices in terms of segregation, collection, storage and transportation in dealing efficiently with medical waste management. In addition to that, all the interested parties (government, hospitals and workers at healthcare facilities) wrer recommended to implement a safe reliable medical waste management strategy, not only in legislation and policy formation but also particularly in its monitoring and enforcement, which can be achieved by the cooperation of Ministry of Health, Environmental Quality Authority, Ministry of Local Government, and Non-Governmental Organizations working in the same fields.

Management of healthcare waste in circumstances of limited resources: a case study in the hospitals of Nablus city, Palestine

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Issam A. Al-Khatib ◽  
Yousef S. Al-Qaroot ◽  
Mohammad S. Ali-Shtayeh
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Generation Rate ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Healthcare Waste ◽  
Healthcare Waste Management ◽  
Waste Generation Rate

The objectives of this study were the assessment of healthcare waste management and the characterization of healthcare waste material generated in the hospitals in Nablus city, Palestine, and furthermore, to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B among the cleaning personnel working in these hospitals. The medical waste generation rate in kg per bed per day was between 0.59 and 0.93 kg bed— 1 day—1. The waste generation rate in the healthcare facilities of Nablus city hospitals was similar to some other developing countries; however, the percentage of medical wastes in the total waste stream was comparatively high. The density of medical waste at the four hospitals studied ranged between 144.9 and 188.4 kg m— 3 with a mean value of 166.7 kg m—3. The waste segregation and handling practices were very poor. Other alternatives for waste treatment rather than incineration such as a locally made autoclave integrated with a shredder should be evaluated and implemented. The system of healthcare waste management in Nablus city is in need of immediate improvement and attention. Formulating rules and guidelines for medical waste and developing strategies for overcoming the obstacles related to waste management should be considered as an urgent matter.

scholarly journals Factual Status of Bio-Medical Waste Management in Kota, Rajasthan, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2482-2489
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Disposal Site ◽  
Local Newspapers ◽  
The Status ◽  
Central Pollution Control Board ◽  
Medical Waste Management ◽  
Treatment And Disposal ◽  
Health Care Centers

Hospitals including all types of health care centers generate a lot of wastes per day which needs to be segregated, collected and transported to the treatment and disposal site according to the norms prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India. After reading about mismanagement of bio-medical waste in local newspapers of Kota city, it was planned to perform an analytical study to find out the factual status. During study, the hospitals of Kota both government and private were visited and the status of bio-medical waste management was studied right from its generation to the final transportation from the hospitals by concerned agency nominated for this purpose. It was noticed that treatment and disposal facilities are not available at Kota and as per official records; the waste is transported to another city Alwar. During the study period, this fact could not be verified as there were no vehicles seen transporting bio-medical waste daily from Kota to Alwar and no monitoring system was seen in place for this purpose whether the operator has actually transported the waste to the treatment site or dumped it somewhere else with municipal solid waste. Other than this, many shortcomings in the system were also noticed during the study period. The segregation is not performed at the point of generation, the employees deployed for segregation, collection and transportation are neither sufficient in number nor well trained and do not have any safety equipment, transportation is not carried out properly and most critical point to note is that the city does not have any treatment plant of its own. There is a lack of awareness among all stakeholders regarding new Bio-Medical Waste Management (BMWM) Rules, 2016. The concerned authorities need to take an immediate action for proper management of bio-medical waste in Kota; otherwise it may create severe health hazards to human health, especially the young students studying in coaching institutes of Kota

scholarly journals Medical waste and health workers in Gaza governorates

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (06) ◽  
pp. 1017-1024
Author(s):  
H. T. Massrouje
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
National Programme ◽  
Health Care Clinics ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Medical Waste Management

The study was conducted among health workers in Gaza to identify and highlight the problem of medical waste management. Data were collected through a questionnaire [given to 400 health workers], a checklist and interviews [with 16 decision-makers]. Results show that there is no system for medical waste management in Gaza. Segregation is done only for sharps and there are no colour-coded bags. Medical waste is stored and disposed of with domestic waste in primary health care clinics and is incinerated in hospitals, but there are no emission control or safety measures. There are some gaps in knowledge of health care workers, and current practices are inadequate. However there is generally a positive attitude to improving medical waste management among those surveyed and interviewed. A national programme for medical waste management is essential in Palestine.

scholarly journals Medical Waste Treatment Technologies for Energy, Fuels, and Materials Production: A Review

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 8065
Author(s):  
Georgios Giakoumakis ◽  
Dorothea Politi ◽  
Dimitrios Sidiras
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Batch Reactor ◽  
Rankine Cycle ◽  
Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Enzymatic Oxidation ◽  
Management Problem ◽  
Treatment Technologies ◽  
Medical Waste Management

The importance of medical waste management has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the increase in medical waste quantity and the significant dangers of these highly infected wastes for human health and the environment. This innovative review focuses on the possibility of materials, gas/liquid/solid fuels, thermal energy, and electric power production from medical waste fractions. Appropriate and promising treatment/disposal technologies, such as (i) acid hydrolysis, (ii) acid/enzymatic hydrolysis, (iii) anaerobic digestion, (vi) autoclaving, (v) enzymatic oxidation, (vi) hydrothermal carbonization/treatment, (vii) incineration/steam heat recovery system, (viii) pyrolysis/Rankine cycle, (ix) rotary kiln treatment, (x) microwave/steam sterilization, (xi) plasma gasification/melting, (xii) sulfonation, (xiii) batch reactor thermal cracking, and (xiv) torrefaction, were investigated. The medical waste generation data were collected according to numerous researchers from various countries, and divided into gross medical waste and hazardous medical waste. Moreover, the medical wastes were separated into categories and types according to the international literature and the medical waste fractions’ percentages were estimated. The capability of the examined medical waste treatment technologies to produce energy, fuels, and materials, and eliminate the medical waste management problem, was very promising with regard to the near future.

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