Healthcare waste management in Ghanaian hospitals: Associated public health and environmental challenges

Odonkor, Stephen T.; Mahami, Tahiru

doi:10.1177/0734242x20914748

Cited by 26 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…Accra's dumps have all been closed, and the city currently does not have its own solid waste disposal site. The collected waste is trucked to a landfill in a municipality approximately 37 kilometers away [ 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Air Quality in Neighborhoods near Landfill Sites: Implications for Public Health

Odonkor

Mahami

2020

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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Air pollution has been a major challenge worldwide particularly in the developing world. Improper waste disposal and management may result in microbial air pollution. In advanced countries, landfill sites are far from neighborhoods; however, the opposite is observed for landfill sites in the developing world. In Accra, some landfill sites are 100 meters from neighborhoods. The aim of this study was to assess the microbial air quality and associated environmental health hazards of landfill sites in selected districts in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. A random sampling method was employed to select sampling sites across the dry and wet seasons from landfills and their corresponding neighborhoods. Results obtained showed a higher total count (CFU/m3) of bacteria and fungi in the air at the landfill sites than neighborhoods. Statistically significant variation p<0.05 in bacterial and fungal concentrations over two seasons was found for both landfills and neighborhoods. However, bacterial concentrations were significantly higher than fungal concentrations p<0.05 across seasons for all locations. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the highest (15.6 %) occurring microbe at both landfill sites and neighborhoods. This was followed by Staphylococcus aureus (12.7%). Other bacteria and fungi of public health importance such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus niger were also isolated from the study sites, above the WHO recommended levels. In conclusion, the landfill waste disposal and its close proximity to neighborhoods as observed in this study pose a potential environmental health risk, with dire implications for public health and safety. The government must enact and implement policies to regulate waste management and to ensure public safety.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Air Quality in Neighborhoods near Landfill Sites: Implications for Public Health

Odonkor

Mahami

2020

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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“…Although healthcare workers involved in management tend to have gaps in knowledge, attitude, and practice, and thus often risk the public's health and the environment through pollution (Makori, 2018). A lack of knowledge about medical waste management is an obvious mistake; this can affect the practice of safe waste disposal and should not be ignored (Odonkor & Mahami, 2020).…”

Section: Waste Management Mechanisms Employed By Public Health Facili...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Proposed Solutions to Address the Challenges of Medical Waste Management in Health Facilities in Kamukunji Sub-County, Nairobi City County, Kenya

Mbuvi¹,

Kyulu²,

Kimani³

2022

JMNPH

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Medical waste management in Kenya has been greatly affected by the country's elevated production levels. The majority of medical facilities do not have an extensive medical waste management system, or if they do, they do not handle waste thoroughly, and therefore is detrimental to humans and the environment. This research focuses on health facilities’ management of medical waste in Kamukunji sub-county, assessing the specific problems of medical waste management in that area. This was a study focusing on healthcare workers, their working conditions and habits. This study was an analytical cross-sectional study design. Multistage sampling methods for the selection of 10 health facilities and 141 study participants. The R square was 0.746, indicating that medical waste management was harmed by a lack of funding, insufficient logistics, a lack of disposal sites, and a lack of understanding. This demonstrated a 74.6 percent variance in healthcare waste management due to a lack of funding, insufficient logistical supply, a lack of disposal site, and a lack of awareness. The remaining 25.4% implies that there were additional issues affecting the healthcare waste management systems of the ten health facilities evaluated. By explicitly identifying a given color with a certain category and its accompanying hazard, segregation aids to make waste processing safer. During the research period, Pumwani Maternity Hospital generated the most medical waste (80Kg) and Bahati Health Center generated the least (15Kg). The study concludes that periodic updates in medical waste management are necessary, as is refresher training for healthcare professionals and waste handlers. Additionally, it is advised that each health care facility have a safe and hygienic system in place for the handling, segregation, c collection, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of medical waste. All health facilities in Kenya, the study states, should adhere to the National Policy on Injection Safety and Medical Waste Management (2007). The 2007 strategy aims to emphasize the need of advocating for both the support and execution necessary to adequately manage healthcare waste. Keywords: Medical waste generation, health risks, medical waste management solutions, challenges of medical waste management, health facilities

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“…In the case of developing countries, the reverse is true. Most of the waste management budget is spent on waste collection and only a small fraction is spent on waste disposal (Odonkor and Mahami, 2020). A 2019 European Union report reveals that more than 2503 million tonnes of waste were generated in that year by households and other economic activities.…”

Section: Problem Identification and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blockchain-based medical and water waste management conception

et al. 2021

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The revolutionary technology blockchain began with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin but has since expanded beyond the worlds of finance and banking. One relatively unexplored application domain is medical and water waste. The production of medical/water waste is an integral part of healthcare operations. However, Health care and water waste management methods can also pose a health and environment risk if the various steps in the management process are not carried out correctly. The objective of this paper is to propose conception of a system, based on the Blockchain and IoT, that ensures the control of these wastes in order to effectively manage, coordinate and monitor their disposal. An initial design of this system and an evaluation of the system's performance are also presented.

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Healthcare waste management in Ghanaian hospitals: Associated public health and environmental challenges

Cited by 26 publications

References 25 publications

Microbial Air Quality in Neighborhoods near Landfill Sites: Implications for Public Health

Microbial Air Quality in Neighborhoods near Landfill Sites: Implications for Public Health

Proposed Solutions to Address the Challenges of Medical Waste Management in Health Facilities in Kamukunji Sub-County, Nairobi City County, Kenya

Blockchain-based medical and water waste management conception

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