Assessment of health-care waste management in a humanitarian crisis: A case study of the Gaza Strip

Background/Aims Medical waste, or clinical waste, is generated in hospitals, clinics, and pharmaceutical manufacturing as a result of the diagnosis, treatment and medicine that is being produced across the healthcare system. This waste can have a severe effect on both the environment and population health. Overall, between 75% and 90% of the waste produced by healthcare providers is non-risk general waste or domestic waste. It is therefore mandatory for healthcare organisations to have an effective medical waste management plan to eliminate real health and environmental hazards. Methods This article critically reviews literature that investigates the administrative procedures and collection protocols regarding medical waste. Results Several problems occur during the disposal of medical waste in hospitals in Jordan. The research demonstrates how effective waste management can reduce health risks and protect the environment. Conclusion Overall, there is a poor handling of medical waste, which extends to a lack of regulations that govern medical waste procedure.

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“…Further to this, appropriate treatment technology must be applied to minimise effects that could harm the population. Caniato et al (2016)…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of medical waste management in Jordanian health care organisations

Almomani

Obaidat

Khazaleh

et al. 2019

British Journal of Healthcare Management

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“…According to the World Health Organization [1], about 16 billion injections worldwide are administered every year. Unfortunately, not all needles and syringes are disposed of safely, potentially creating risks of injury, infection and opportunities for reuse especially in low-income countries [2]. According to Health Care without Harm [3], sharps waste is a subset of infectious waste and includes syringes, needles, lancets, broken glass and any other materials that can pierce the skin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthcare Waste Management: A Case Study from Sudan

2018

Self Cite

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Healthcare waste (HCW) represents a major public health issue, especially in developing countries. Among HCW categories, sharps waste is one of the most hazardous. Exposure to needle-stick injuries can lead to blood-borne pathogens, therefore HCW should be managed in an effective manner. The main aims of this study were to assess the current management of used needles and to suggest suitable recommendations for an improved and safer system for needle management in Khartoum, Sudan. The study showed that the management of both healthcare and home-generated HCW in Sudan is inefficient, as all wastes are mixed together and disposed of improperly, especially used needles. The study attributes this to many reasons, including lack of waste segregation at the source, lack of policies, failure of planning, inadequate training, lack of awareness of the hazardous nature of such kinds of waste, weak infrastructure, and a lack of suitable treatment technologies. The estimated average generated rate of HCW ranged from 0.38 to 0.87 kg/bed/day in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Such ineffective healthcare waste management HCWM, especially used needles, can put public health as well as the environment at risk, particularly waste workers, thus urgent action needs to be taken by all involved parties and at all levels.

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“…This framework outlines the activities required for waste management and categorizes the resource inputs required for each activity into the cost categories outlined in Table 3. We developed this example framework through a review of studies captured by the systematic review that describe resources used in waste management activities [39,49,51,[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]. We categorized these resources into cost categories, and then cross-referenced selected guidelines for waste management [42,70] to fill gaps.…”

Section: Costing Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Budgeting for Environmental Health Services in Healthcare Facilities: A Ten-Step Model for Planning and Costing

Anderson

Cronk

Best

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Environmental health services (EHS) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) are critical for safe care provision, yet their availability in low- and middle-income countries is low. A poor understanding of costs hinders progress towards adequate provision. Methods are inconsistent and poorly documented in costing literature, suggesting opportunities to improve evidence. The goal of this research was to develop a model to guide budgeting for EHS in HCFs. Based on 47 studies selected through a systematic review, we identified discrete budgeting steps, developed codes to define each step, and ordered steps into a model. We identified good practices based on a review of additional selected guidelines for costing EHS and HCFs. Our model comprises ten steps in three phases: planning, data collection, and synthesis. Costing-stakeholders define the costing purpose, relevant EHS, and cost scope; assess the EHS delivery context; develop a costing plan; and identify data sources (planning). Stakeholders then execute their costing plan and evaluate the data quality (data collection). Finally, stakeholders calculate costs and disseminate findings (synthesis). We present three hypothetical costing examples and discuss good practices, including using costing frameworks, selecting appropriate indicators to measure the quantity and quality of EHS, and iterating planning and data collection to select appropriate costing approaches and identify data gaps.

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Assessment of health-care waste management in a humanitarian crisis: A case study of the Gaza Strip

Cited by 43 publications

References 16 publications

Review of medical waste management in Jordanian health care organisations

Review of medical waste management in Jordanian health care organisations

Healthcare Waste Management: A Case Study from Sudan

Budgeting for Environmental Health Services in Healthcare Facilities: A Ten-Step Model for Planning and Costing

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