A Comprehensive Assessment of Improper Medical Waste Disposal and Its Effects on Environmental Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/hl2022137Keywords:
Medical waste disposal, environmental health, descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysisAbstract
Improper medical waste disposal poses significant environmental and health risks. Investigation on its impact, focusing on factors like healthcare facility type, worker training, and waste management infrastructure is crucial. To assess the relationship between improper waste disposal and environmental health outcomes is the main aim of this research. Surveys were conducted with 150 healthcare workers and 50 waste management personnel across local hospitals and clinics to gather data on disposal practices and health impacts. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 28 to explore relationships between variables, including healthcare facility type, training level, infrastructure, regulatory enforcement, and waste segregation practices, impacting environmental health outcomes. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis, highlighting key factors influencing improper disposal. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize and present key characteristics of the dataset, such as frequencies, means, and standard deviations, offering an overview of the sample's demographic details and waste disposal practices. Additionally, multiple regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationships between variables like environmental health outcomes (e.g., pollution levels). Multiple regression analysis showed strong correlations between waste segregation practices and environmental health outcomes (p < 0.05). Improper medical waste disposal poses significant environmental health risks, with insufficient training and infrastructure identified as major contributors. Policy changes and improved waste management practices are recommended.
References
1. Zand AD, Heir AV. Emanating challenges in urban and healthcare waste management in Isfahan, Iran after the outbreak of COVID-19. Environmental Technology. 2021 Jan 15; 42(2):329-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2020.1866082
2. Joseph B, James J, Kalarikkal N, Thomas S. Recycling of medical plastics. Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research. 2021 Jul 1;4(3):199-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiepr.2021.06.003
3. Xiong X, Liu X, Iris KM, Wang L, Zhou J, Sun X, Rinklebe J, Shaheen SM, Ok YS, Lin Z, Tsang DC. Potentially toxic elements in solid waste streams: Fate and management approaches. Environmental pollution. 2019 Oct 1;253:680-707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.012
4. Iyer M, Tiwari S, Renu K, Pasha MY, Pandit S, Singh B, Raj N, Krothapalli S, Kwak HJ, Balasubramanian V, Jang SB. Environmental survival of SARS-CoV-2–a solid waste perspective. Environmental Research. 2021 Jun 1;197:111015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111015
5. Aryampa S, Maheshwari B, Sabiiti EN, Zamorano M. A framework for assessing the ecological sustainability of waste disposal sites (EcoSWaD). Waste Management. 2021 May 1;126:11-20.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.02.044
6. Alharbi NS, Alhaji JH, Qattan MY. Toward sustainable environmental management of healthcare waste: a holistic perspective. Sustainability. 2021 May 9;13(9):5280.https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095280
7. Qian G, Duanmu C, Ali N, Khan A, Malik S, Yang Y, Bilal M. Hazardous wastes, adverse impacts, and management strategies: a way forward to environmental sustainability. Environment, Development and Sustainability. 2021:1-26.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01867-2
8. Yusoff FM, Abdullah AF, Aris AZ, Umi WA. Impacts of COVID-19 on the aquatic environment and implications on aquatic food production. Sustainability. 2021 Oct 13;13(20):11281. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011281
9. Okedere OB, Olalekan AP, Fakinle BS, Elehinafe FB, Odunlami OA, Sonibare JA. Urban air pollution from the open burning of municipal solid waste. Environmental Quality Management. 2019 Jun;28(4):67-74. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.21633
10. Behnam B, Oishi SN, Uddin SM, Rafa N, Nasiruddin SM, Mollah AM, Hongzhi M. Inadequacies in hospital waste and sewerage management in Chattogram, Bangladesh: exploring environmental and occupational health hazards. Sustainability. 2020 Oct 31;12(21):9077. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219077
11. Zamparas M, Kapsalis VC, Kyriakopoulos GL, Aravossis KG, Kanteraki AE, Vantarakis A, Kalavrouziotis IK. Medical waste management and environmental assessment in the Rio University Hospital, Western Greece. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 2019 Sep 1;13:100163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2019.100163
12. Aung TS, Luan S, Xu Q. Application of multi-criteria-decision approach for the analysis of medical waste management systems in Myanmar. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019 Jun 10;222:733-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.049
13. Ilyas S, Srivastava RR, Kim H. Disinfection technology and strategies for COVID-19 hospital and bio-medical waste management. Science of the Total Environment. 2020 Dec 20;749:141652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141652
14. Hantoko D, Li X, Pariatamby A, Yoshikawa K, Horttanainen M, Yan M. Challenges and practices on waste management and disposal during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of environmental management. 2021 May 15;286:112140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112140
15. Rodrigues MO, Abrantes N, Gonçalves FJ, Nogueira H, Marques JC, Gonçalves AM. Impacts of plastic products used in daily life on the environment and human health: What is known?. Environmental toxicology and pharmacology. 2019 Nov 1;72:103239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.etap.2019.103239
16. Wafula ST, Musiime J, Oporia F. Health care waste management among health workers and associated factors in primary health care facilities in Kampala City, Uganda: a cross-sectional study. BMC public health. 2019 Dec;19:1-0. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6528-4
17. Odonkor ST, Mahami T. Healthcare waste management in Ghanaian hospitals: Associated public health and environmental challenges. Waste Management & Research. 2020 Aug;38(8):831-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X20914748
18. Zhao HL, Wang L, Liu F, Liu HQ, Zhang N, Zhu YW. Energy, environment and economy assessment of medical waste disposal technologies in China. Science of The Total Environment. 2021 Nov 20;796:148964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148964
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Dillip Kumar Dash , Mohammad Asif , Pooja Varma , Shankar Lal Soni (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.