Hospital waste management in developing countries: A mini review

Abstract

Health care activities can generate different kinds of hazardous wastes. Mismanagement of these wastes can result in environmental and occupational health risks. Developing countries are resource-constrained when it comes to safe management of hospital wastes. This study summarizes the main issues faced in hospital waste management in developing countries. A review of the existing literature suggests that regulations and legislations focusing on hospital waste management are recent accomplishments in many of these countries. Implementation of these rules varies from one hospital to another. Moreover, wide variations exist in waste generation rates within as well as across these countries. This is mainly attributable to a lack of an agreement on the definitions and the methodology among the researchers to measure such wastes. Furthermore, hospitals in these countries suffer from poor waste segregation, collection, storage, transportation and disposal practices, which can lead to occupational and environmental risks. Knowledge and awareness regarding proper waste management remain low in the absence of training for hospital staff. Moreover, hospital sanitary workers, and scavengers, operate without the provision of safety equipment or immunization. Unsegregated waste is illegally recycled, leading to further safety risks. Overall, hospital waste management in developing countries faces several challenges. Sustainable waste management practices can go a long way in reducing the harmful effects of hospital wastes.

Increase adherence to waste management policy at healthcare facility in Egypt

“…There is marked discrepancy in waste generation rates within each country and across countries. In general, hospitals in developing countries suffer from poor practices in waste sorting and segregation, handling, storage, transport, and final disposal (Ali et al 2017). In Egypt, the issue of hazardous medical wastes management has acquired an increasing interest in the last two decades, as the awareness of their serious health effects has increased on both public and governmental levels (Shouman et al 2013).…”

Nomenclature for Healthcare Waste in the Healthcare Sector and Its Alignment with the Provisions Made by The World Health Organization’s Manual for Healthcare Waste Management: A Scoping Review

“…It is not clear why the use of nomenclature vary in countries, and yet, there is only one global manual. More so, the adverse consequences of the improper management of HCW have been documented extensively [2,[18][19][20][21][22][23], and using different nomenclatures to describe HCW is one of the factors contributing to the improper segregation practices of HCW among healthcare workers [4]. For example, a study in Botswana on HCWM current practices in healthcare facilities [16] found that the term 'clinical waste' is known to mean all of the waste that is generated from healthcare facilities.…”

“…However, the healthcare waste (HCW) that is generated during these healthcare activities could have adverse effects on both the people and the environment if it is poorly managed [2,3]. The literature regarding healthcare waste management (HCWM) shows that large volumes of HCW is generated from healthcare facilities globally [4], and it is poorly managed, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) [5]. The main factors attributed to poor HCWM practices in LMICs include: lack of financial investment and clear policies to manage HCW by most governments [3][4][5][6], low levels of knowledge by healthcare staff on how to handle HCW properly [7,8], poor segregation practices among healthcare workers [9], and inappropriate transport for transporting HCW, which is driven by untrained drivers who are also not registered to handle HCW [10].…”

“…The literature regarding healthcare waste management (HCWM) shows that large volumes of HCW is generated from healthcare facilities globally [4], and it is poorly managed, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) [5]. The main factors attributed to poor HCWM practices in LMICs include: lack of financial investment and clear policies to manage HCW by most governments [3][4][5][6], low levels of knowledge by healthcare staff on how to handle HCW properly [7,8], poor segregation practices among healthcare workers [9], and inappropriate transport for transporting HCW, which is driven by untrained drivers who are also not registered to handle HCW [10]. More so, there are inadequate technologies for treating HCW [11][12][13][14]; as a result, HCW is often illegally dumped, openly burnt, and buried in poorly managed dumpsites [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Green nephrology and eco-dialysis: a position statement by the Italian Society of Nephrology

“…Dialysis is at the heart of the matter as it is one of the most important waste producers in medicine [7][8][9][10]. Waste management involves not only ecological factors, it also has an important economic impact, since the disposal of potentially hazardous or contaminated waste, which by definition is all hospital waste that has been in contact with any kind of biological fluid, can be extremely expensive, and represents a problem increasingly felt to be crucial in developing countries [10][11][12][13][14][15].…”