Solid medical waste: a cross sectional study of household disposal practices and reported harm in Southern Ghana

Abstract

BackgroundSolid medical waste (SMW) in households is perceived to pose minimal risks to the public compared to SMW generated from healthcare facilities. While waste from healthcare facilities is subject to recommended safety measures to minimize risks to human health and the environment, similar waste in households is often untreated and co-mingled with household waste which ends up in landfills and open dumps in many African countries. In Ghana, the management of this potentially hazardous waste stream at household and community level has not been widely reported. The objective of this study was to investigate household disposal practices and harm resulting from SMW generated in households and the community.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 600 households was undertaken in Ga South Municipal Assembly in Accra, Ghana from mid-April to June, 2014. Factors investigated included socio-demographic characteristics, medication related practices, the belief that one is at risk of diseases associated with SMW, SMW disposal practices and reported harm associated with SMW at home and in the community.ResultsEighty percent and 89% of respondents discarded unwanted medicines and sharps in household refuse bins respectively. A corresponding 23% and 35% of respondents discarded these items without a container. Harm from SMW in the household and in the community was reported by 5% and 3% of respondents respectively. Persons who believed they were at risk of diseases associated with SMW were nearly three times more likely to report harm in the household (OR 2.75, 95%CI 1.15–6.54).ConclusionThe belief that one can be harmed by diseases associated with SMW influenced reporting rates in the study area. Disposal practices suggest the presence of unwanted medicines and sharps in the household waste stream conferring on it hazardous properties. Given the low rates of harm reported, elimination of preventable harm might justify community intervention.

Healthcare Waste Management: A Case Study from Sudan

“…All healthcare and domestic wastes were mixed together, there was no available enforced law, low vaccination rates among the HCP, PPE was unavailable or partially used, staff training was inadequate, and high rates of NSIs were reported, especially among waste workers. Similar results in terms of poor HCWM have been reported by previous studies in many African countries [76][77][78][79]. Such poor HCWM will result in serious health effects to the population and also has negative impacts on the environment [6,52].…”

Household Medicines Disposal Practices in Maiduguri, North-Eastern Nigeria

“…This has public wellbeing, ecosystem, and economic implications for the citizens and the healthcare delivery system at large (34). In contrast, earlier studies conducted in Nigeria (6,35) and other countries (22,26,27,(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47) had identified discarding in the household garbage as the most common means of disposal of unused/unwanted medicines. Moreover, an online-based survey conducted in Turkey reported that 34.0% of the respondents returned unused medicines to the health facility (48).…”

Stakeholders’ Practices and Perspectives on Solid Medical Waste Management: A Community Based Study in Accra, Ghana

“…Data was collected in two phases within a larger study investigating solid medical waste from non-traditional sources in the community. The first phase involved a household survey to identify household disposal practices regarding SMW and the second phase involved a household waste audit [12]. Correspondingly, the FGDs and interviews were conducted in June/July, 2014 and January/February, 2015.…”

“…There is a dearth of literature describing the management of SMW from community sources in Ghana. To address this, a qualitative evaluation was undertaken within a larger study investigating the management of SMW at community level [12]. We present the perceptions and practices of household members, TBAs and CS regarding disposal and potential harm from SMW in the community.…”