Analysis of Health Workers’ Perceptions on Medical Waste Management in Tanzanian Hospitals

Abstract

This paper presents the perceptions of health workers (HWs) on medical waste management (MWM) issues in Tanzanian hospitals. The perceived total waste generation rates were lower than the actual measurements. Administrators perceived lower rates than implementers. The results indicated three categories of medical waste which are given due attention, that is, sharps waste, pathological and infectious waste. Other wastes like radioactive, chemical, pharmaceutical, pressurized containers receive very little attention. Container colour coding and labelling was negligible, while improvised containers are still in use. Medical waste is transported within hospitals manually, with little efforts on mechanized transportation. Poor waste storage was observed, while the prominent medical waste treatment technologies are medium temperature incinerators. Off-site transportation of medical waste is practiced, where the waste is finally dumped or buried. The hospitals are currently utilizing public-private partnership schemes for MWM in only one aspect of off-site transportation. Three main problems which require high attention include: Weaknesses in hospital management, poor MWM infrastructure, and lack of skills and knowledge on MWM among HWs. Knowledge and awareness among HWs on health hazards associated with poor MWM is low (with exception of cholera, HIV and typhoid). Few PPE types are supplied and used in the hospitals, leading to poor diseases prevention. There is also low knowledge among HWs on administrative issues related to MWM in Tanzanian hospitals.

Adherence to safety practices and risks associated with health care waste management at an academic hospital, Pretoria, South Africa

“… 30 The findings in the present study of all the doctors, intern doctors and sixth year medical students having knowledge on infectious diseases which are associated with lack of proper waste management in the present study, are in agreement with the results in Malini and Bala 21 and Ramokate and Basu 6 where all the categories of the health care workers had good knowledge about the infectious diseases associated with improper management of health care waste. The results on the lack of responses on the risks by the nurses and the cleaning staff are in agreement with the results of Kagonji and Manyele 29 where there was a low awareness among health care workers on the risks and diseases associated with poor management of health care waste.…”

“…Pandit et al 28 and Saini et al 25 reported on much lower knowledge of the biomedical waste by the sanitary workers whereas in the present study there were higher numbers of cleaning staff who had knowledge on legislation and policy associated with healthcare waste management. In a study by Kagonji and Manyele 29 , the existence of crucial documents such as legislations, manuals and policies in all the surveyed hospitals was below 40.0% indicating that health care workers were not guided by any management tool which led to operating by intutuition hence leading to poor management of health care waste. The results on the knowledge and practises of participants regarding handling of the health care wastes are not comparable with findings of Debere et al 30 where none of the hospitals in the study reported using the colour coding system and there was also no segregation of health care waste.…”

Medical Waste-Sorting and Management Practices in Five Hospitals in Ghana

“…erefore, it is imperative that sorting of hospital waste begins at the wards and units, using separate receptacles and different color codes for the infectious waste fractions, the sharps waste, and the noninfectious waste types and that adequate safeguards and labels for the high-risk waste are provided to prevent patients and hospital staff from contacting them. A study by [29] of two hospitals in Tanzania showed that at least 25% of medical waste in the two hospitals was not sorted at source. us, there was still a potential for disease infection at the wards and units and also at the storage points when sorted by waste handlers, as well as at disposal points by scavengers.…”

Risk perception towards healthcare waste among community people in Kathmandu, Nepal

“…The situation is more critical in the area of planning and resource allocations. [5] WHO estimated that in 2000, injections with contaminated syringes caused 21 million hepatitis B, 2 million hepatitis C and 260,000 HIV infections. [6] Health care workers and solid waste workers have a higher risk of injury and infection compared to general population.…”