Abstract:In recent years, municipal authorities especially in the developing nations are battling to select the best health care waste (HCW) disposal technique for the effective treatment of the medical wastes during and post COVID-19 era. As evaluation of various disposal alternatives of HCW and selection of the best technique requires considering various tangible and intangible criteria, this can be framed as multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. In this paper, we propose an assessment framework for the sele… Show more
“…The use of incinerator’s capacities increased by raising the amount of COVID-19-related waste in India, which ultimately increased the release of pollutants such as NO x , SO x , CO, Cd, and Pb into the atmosphere (Thind et al 2021 ). Accordingly, considering the incinerators as the best methods for disposing healthcare waste has a challenge due to its emitted pollutants (Manupati et al 2021 ).…”
The COVID-19 pandemic has an adverse effect on the environment. This epidemic’s effect on the waste composition and management and the impacts of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) on disease transmission or controlling are considered a compelling experience of living in the COVID-19 pandemic that can effectively control the process. This systematic review research was conducted to determine the effects of COVID-19 on the quantity of waste and MSWM. Searches were conducted in three databases (using keywords covid 19, coronaviruses, and waste), and among the published articles from 2019 to 2021, 56 ones were selected containing information on the quantity and waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that COVID-19 caused the quantity variation and composition change of MSW. COVID-19 also has significant effects on waste recycling, medical waste management, quantity, and littered waste composition. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed waste compounds’ management activities and waste generation sources. Recognizing these issues can help plan MSWM more efficiently and reduce virus transmission risk through waste.
“…The use of incinerator’s capacities increased by raising the amount of COVID-19-related waste in India, which ultimately increased the release of pollutants such as NO x , SO x , CO, Cd, and Pb into the atmosphere (Thind et al 2021 ). Accordingly, considering the incinerators as the best methods for disposing healthcare waste has a challenge due to its emitted pollutants (Manupati et al 2021 ).…”
The COVID-19 pandemic has an adverse effect on the environment. This epidemic’s effect on the waste composition and management and the impacts of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) on disease transmission or controlling are considered a compelling experience of living in the COVID-19 pandemic that can effectively control the process. This systematic review research was conducted to determine the effects of COVID-19 on the quantity of waste and MSWM. Searches were conducted in three databases (using keywords covid 19, coronaviruses, and waste), and among the published articles from 2019 to 2021, 56 ones were selected containing information on the quantity and waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that COVID-19 caused the quantity variation and composition change of MSW. COVID-19 also has significant effects on waste recycling, medical waste management, quantity, and littered waste composition. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed waste compounds’ management activities and waste generation sources. Recognizing these issues can help plan MSWM more efficiently and reduce virus transmission risk through waste.
“…Simple to complex decision matrix tools are seen widely used in health care sector not just to help make clinical decisions but to also manage other components of health care. 9 A simple decision matrix was created to guide weekly clinic reactivation decisions using the dashboard data. The purpose of creating this algorithm was to incrementally add outpatient capacity for inperson and virtual visits based on patient demand.…”
Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted health care organizations throughout the world. The Southwest Minnesota Region of Mayo Clinic Health System, a community-based health care system, was not immune, and in March 2020, our outpatient services were deferred and decreased by 90%. Method: This article is a review of the approach we used to safely reactivate outpatient care, the tools that we developed, and the outcomes of these reactivation efforts. A novel Outpatient Practice Reactivation Framework was established and used that included Outpatient Clinic Appointment Dashboard, Decision Matrix, Access Management, Virtual Care, and Patient Safety. This framework was guided by patient demand for care and by safety principles, as recommended by state and federal agencies and our internal infectious disease department guidelines. Results and Conclusions: Over the course of 9 weeks, ambulatory visit volumes and clinic utilization rates returned to pre-COVID levels (Pre-COVID fill rate range: 87% to 94%, post-COVID fill rate range: 86% to 89%) exceeding target fill rate of 80%, as a result of establishing the initiative as a shared priority, committing to a robust schedule and decisive actions, creating and maintaining a well-defined structure, taking an inclusive approach, overcommunicating and providing sufficient data for transparency, developing guiding principles, and training and educating staff.
“…Many studies have reported on the handling, treatment, and management of wastes in developing countries (Liang et al, 2021 ; Pandey et al, 2021 ; Wu et al, 2021 ). In general, developing countries are characterized by poor healthcare waste management and often employ improper waste disposal techniques (Manupati et al, 2021 ). Fig.…”
Section: Waste Disposal and Its Managementmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Some of these wastes, such as healthcare, radioactive, municipal, and electronic wastes, are or may be considered hazardous and can cause serious problems for human health; this can include transmission of infectious diseases with healthcare and municipal wastes (Steffan et al, 2018 ; Yazdani et al, 2020 ). The disposal of healthcare wastes, particularly items such as used face masks and gloves, is considered one of the biggest challenges facing urban municipalities and medical providers during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ilyas et al, 2020 ; Manupati et al, 2021 ).…”
Graphical abstract
The health sector is critical to the well-being of any country, but developing countries have several obstacles that prevent them from providing adequate health care. This became an even larger concern after the COVID-19 outbreak left millions of people dead worldwide and generated huge amounts of infected or potentially infected wastes. The management and disposal of medical wastes during and post-COVID-19 represent a major challenge in all countries, but this challenge is particularly great for developing countries that do not have robust waste disposal infrastructure. The main problems in developing countries include inefficient treatment procedures, limited capacity of healthcare facilities, and improper waste disposal procedures. The management of medical wastes in most developing countries was primitive prior to the pandemic. The improper treatment and disposal of these wastes in our current situation may further speed COVID-19 spread, creating a serious risk for workers in the medical and sanitation fields, patients, and all of society. Therefore, there is a critical need to discuss emerging challenges in handling, treating, and disposing of medical wastes in developing countries during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. There is a need to determine best disposal techniques given the conditions and limitations under which developing countries operate. Several open questions need to be investigated concerning this global issue, such as to what extent developing countries can control the expected environmental impacts of COVID-19, particularly those related to medical wastes? What are the projected management scenarios for medical wastes under the COVID-19 outbreak? And what are the major environmental risks posed by contaminated wastes related to COVID-19 treatment? Studies directed at the questions above, careful planning, the use of large capacity mobile recycling facilities, and following established guidelines for disposal of medical wastes should reduce risk of COVID-19 spread in developing countries.
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