The Sticking Point: Diabetic Sharps Disposal Practices in the Community

Costello, Jennifer; Parikh, Ankur P.

doi:10.1007/s11606-013-2350-3

Cited by 18 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Patients who were educated about sharp disposal were likely to dispose of them “safely”. This finding is also supported by several other studies [3, 8, 9, 16, 17]. When all safe methods of sharps disposal are reviewed, there were no relationships between age, gender or type of diabetes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Practices related to sharps disposal among diabetic patients in Sri Lanka

2018

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BackgroundPatients with diabetes on insulin therapy use sharps (e.g., needles) on a regular basis and a considerable proportion of them, within their home environments. These sharps and other bloodstained materials, if not disposed of appropriately has the potential to be a public health hazard.ObjectiveOur objective was to explore the practices related to sharps disposal among patients with diabetes from North Colombo Teaching Hospital (CNTH), Ragama, Sri Lanka.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study on 158 patients with diabetes from the CNTH. Patients had to use sharps for the daily management of their disease for inclusion into the study group. Data were collected on sharps disposal practices using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Clinic records were also used as a secondary data source.ResultsMost patients, 153/158 (96.8%) used syringes to inject insulin. Forty-three patients (27%) involved others (e.g., family) when disposing of sharps. Used sharps were commonly disposed to the household garbage bin by 66 participants (41.7%). Other methods used for sharps disposal were: sharps container, toilet pit, household garbage dump and indiscriminate measures. Importantly most patients, 147 (93%) had received no information on how to dispose of sharps after usage.ConclusionPatients commonly used unsafe practices in home-based sharps disposal. These included disposing of in the household garbage bin, burning sharps in the household garbage dump and disposing of into the common garbage dump of the community. Being male and being > 60 years of age was associated with a higher dependence on family members for sharps disposal. Patient education and public resources for sharps handling can help improve this situation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Practices related to sharps disposal among diabetic patients in Sri Lanka

2018

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“…[ 5 ] Other developed countries have also showed improper sharp disposal practices among diabetes patients to be as high as 80–90%. [ 6 7 ] A study from Pakistan showed that more than 90% patients discarded them into the household bin. [ 8 ]…”

Section: Agnitude Of T He mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even in developed countries, it was found that diabetes patients did not perceive that “insulin pen needles” and lancets required proper disposal methods. [ 6 ] In the New Delhi study, it was found that only 14.1% diabetes patients received education from their healthcare provider regarding proper sharp disposal. [ 10 ] Physicians in India either lack time or are unsure of how and what to counsel to patients.…”

Section: Agnitude Of T He mentioning

confidence: 99%

Improper sharp disposal practices among diabetes patients in home care settings: Need for concern?

Majumdar

Sahoo

Roy

et al. 2015

Indian J Endocr Metab

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In the recent years, outbreaks of blood-borne infections have been reported from assisted living facilities, which were traced back to improper blood glucose monitoring practices. Needle-stick injuries have been implicated in many such cases. This directly raises concerns over sharp disposal practices of diabetic patients self-managing their condition in home care settings. With India being home to a huge diabetic population, this issue, if neglected, can cause substantial damage to the health of the population and a marked economic loss. This article discusses the sharp disposal practices prevalent among diabetes patients, the importance of proper sharp disposal, barriers to safe disposal of sharps, and the options available for doing the same. For adopting an environmentally safe wholesome approach, disposal of plastics generated as a result of diabetes self-care at home is important as well. The article also looks at the possible long-term solutions to these issues that are sustainable in an Indian context.

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“…The majority of participants disposed of their used sharps in toilets (47.8%) and regular trash (13.4%). Such practices are common in many other developing countriesstudies among persons living with diabetes showed that proportion of sharps mixed into the household garbage varied from 46.9% to over 90% (Mekuria et al, 2016;Bouhanick et al, 2000;Costello & Parikh, 2013;Govender & Ross, 2012;Ishtiaq, et al, 2012), posing risks to both people and the environment (Majumdar et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home Disposal of Used Insulin Syringes and Needles by the Patients With Diabetic in Rwanda

Gishoma¹,

Murengezi²,

Hobabagabo³

et al. 2019

JMS

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For many people living with diabetes, using needles to inject insulin and test blood glucose levels is a part of their everyday lives. Improper disposal of these highly contaminating sharp materials can cause injuries to people as well as pollute water sources and agricultural land.Approximately 3.4% of the population in Rwanda lives with diabetes. There is no law specifying how these individuals should dispose of home-used syringes and lancets, and prior to this study, home disposal practices for sharp instruments including needles and lancets used for diabetes self-management were unknown.A cross-sectional study design was used to identify the common methods used by people living with diabetes to dispose of sharps after home use. A total of 201 people living with diabetes participated in the study. Only 107 (53.3%) of them could identify the proper methods of sharp disposal and only 69 (34.3%) reported using these proper disposal methods. The top three challenges to the use of proper disposal practices reported by participants included not being informed of such practices (76, 37.8%), not having appropriate containers (66, 32.8%) and having to travel a long distance to return safety boxes containing sharp materials (47, 23.4%).Future studies should be conducted to understand the financial feasibility of health facility provision of safe disposal boxes for patients. Education focusing on training people living with diabetes to use hard plastic bottles as an acceptable alternative to boxes is also needed. Convenient and effective mechanisms for obtaining and returning used safety boxes should be established. Larger scale studies including more patients could generate more representative data.

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The Sticking Point: Diabetic Sharps Disposal Practices in the Community

Cited by 18 publications

References 2 publications

Practices related to sharps disposal among diabetic patients in Sri Lanka

Practices related to sharps disposal among diabetic patients in Sri Lanka

Improper sharp disposal practices among diabetes patients in home care settings: Need for concern?

Home Disposal of Used Insulin Syringes and Needles by the Patients With Diabetic in Rwanda

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