Assessment of medical waste management in seven hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

BackgroundMedical waste (MW) can be generated in hospitals, clinics and places where diagnosis and treatment are conducted. The management of these wastes is an issue of great concern and importance in view of potential public health risks associated with such wastes. The study assessed the medical waste management practices in selected hospitals and also determined the impact of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) intervention programs. A descriptive cross-sectional survey method was used.MethodsData were collected using three instrument (questionnaire, site visitation and in –depth interview). Two public (hospital A, B) and five private (hospital C, D, E, F and G) which provide services for low, middle and high income earners were used. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 20. Chi-squared test was used to determine level of significance at p < 0.05.ResultsThe majority 56 (53.3 %) of the respondents were females with mean age of 35.46 (±1.66) years. The hospital surveyed, except hospital D, disposes both general and medical waste separately. All the facilities have the same process of managing their waste which is segregation, collection/on-site transportation, on-site storage and off–site transportation. Staff responsible for collecting medical waste uses mainly hand gloves as personal protective equipment. The intervention programs helped to ensure compliance and safety of the processes; all the hospitals employ the services of LAWMA for final waste disposal and treatment. Only hospital B offered on-site treatment of its waste (sharps only) with an incinerator while LAWMA uses hydroclave to treat its wastes. There are no policies or guidelines in all investigated hospitals for managing waste.ConclusionsAn awareness of proper waste management amongst health workers has been created in most hospitals through the initiative of LAWMA. However, hospital D still mixes municipal and hazardous wastes. The treatment of waste is generally done by LAWMA using hydroclave, to prevent environmental hazards except hospital B that treats its sharp with an incinerator. In order to enhance uniform and appropriate waste management practices in the entire State, there is need for capacity building at all levels and also policies and guidelines formulations.

Investigating Knowledge, Attitude and Health Care Waste Management by Health Workers in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

“…4;2017 This finding is comparable to a study done in Lagos where burning of hospital waste was found to be a common practice (Longe & Williams, 2006). It however differed from another study done in seven hospitals in Lagos where all the hospitals employ the services of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) for final waste disposal and treatment except one hospital that offered on-site treatment of waste with incinerator (Olufunsho et al, 2016).…”

“…The level of awareness among healthcare workers regarding health care waste has not been adequately documented in Nigeria (Abubakar, 2013;Stephen & Elijah, 2011). Many health facilities in Nigeria do not have a specific policy for management of hospital waste (Olufunsho, Aishat, & Azuka, 2016) The study therefore aims at investigating the knowledge, and health care waste management among health workers in Enugu State, Nigeria.…”

Reverse Logistics Network Design for Effective Management of Medical Waste in Epidemic Outbreaks: Insights from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in Wuhan (China)

“…[43], which may contain highly hazardous substances and may impose potential risks to medical staffs, patients and the general public [43]. The reverse logistics of medical waste comprises of three main activities: (1) collection and separation at the sources; (2) transportation to respective facilities; and (3) proper treatment and disposal [44]. At the sources, medical waste is usually collected and sorted with color-coded containers based on their characteristics, but the color selected, the waste classification and the requirement of maximum storage time in different regions are by no means identical [45].…”

Medical waste management and disposal practices of health facilities in Kumbo East and Kumbo West health districts

“…With the growing concern on medical waste management, some developing countries have recently implemented interventions that have improved their waste management practices (Kumar et al, 2015;Tabash et al, 2016;Awodele et al, 2016). Although, there is very limited information on health care waste management in Cameroon, few studies conducted report medical waste management as a challenge in both primary and tertiary care facilities (Doumtsop, 2014).…”