AN INVESTIGATION OF HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT, KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES AMONG HEALTH WORKERS

AN INVESTIGATION OF HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT, KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES AMONG HEALTH WORKERS

Background to the Study

The infectious nature of trash from healthcare settings poses a risk to the general population's health. As a result of the fact that the majority of healthcare facilities are situated in the middle of cities, improper disposal of healthcare waste has the potential to spread potentially fatal infections and to endanger the local environment, as well as the health professionals, patients, and members of the general public (WHO, 2014). According to Aisien (2022), healthcare waste, also known as HCW, has the potential to pose a significant risk to human health owing to the infectious properties it has if it is not properly handled. It should not come as a surprise that healthcare waste management gets less attention and priority than it warrants in Nigeria since Nigeria is one of the developing nations that has health challenges that compete for limited resources (Almuneef, 2021). As a result, there is a significant obstacle to overcome in underdeveloped nations, which often lack any institutional mechanisms for the management of healthcare waste. It is common practice to dispose of clinical wastes publicly at the same dumpsite as municipal garbage, and because of this, people of the community have access to the waste, which may increase the risk of an epidemic of infectious illnesses (Araoye, 2020). Askarian (2022) observed that the management of healthcare waste, despite the fact that it constitutes a very little fraction of overall community trash, is seen as an important problem on a global scale. According to the World Health Organization (2014), 15% of the total waste created in healthcare facilities is hazardous. This hazardous waste has to be appropriately separated at the time of creation to avoid the whole healthcare waste stream from becoming 100% hazardous. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year there are approximately 8 to 16 million new cases of hepatitis B virus (HBV), 2.3 to 4.7 million cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV), and 80,000 to 160,000 new cases of human immune deficiency virus (HIV) as a result of unsafe injections disposal and, more importantly, mostly due to very poor waste management systems.

Both those who work in the health care industry and those who do not have started paying a lot more attention to the dangers that are linked with healthcare waste, also known as HCW, and how it is managed. If healthcare institutions are aware of the different kinds and amounts of clinical waste that are produced, it will assist them in planning and budgeting an acceptable amount of money for the management of hazardous waste (Becher, 2022). According to the findings of a research that was carried out by Blenkharn (2021) at two General hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria, there was no waste reduction plan in the hospitals since there was insufficient quantification of healthcare waste.

This absence of a strategy for the management of healthcare waste ultimately results in insufficient waste segregation at the time of use, as well as throughout collection, storage, and disposal. This ineffective waste management technique in the healthcare industry poses risks to the health of healthcare personnel as well as patients and the environment. Poor healthcare waste management in hospitals may be attributed to a number of identified deficiencies, such as a lack of color-coded bags for the segregation of healthcare waste at the point of use and a lack of rules for health workers regarding the segregation and disposal of waste. Patients' visitors and the community in which they are improperly disposed of in a way that contaminates the soil, air, and water are also at risk due to the improper management of healthcare waste by healthcare facilities, which poses a health risk not only to healthcare workers and patients but also to patients themselves. Individuals who work at healthcare institutions are not expected to be the source of possible dangers to the health of the people who are in their immediate vicinity; rather, they should work to safeguard the health of those people.

In addition, a rise in the number of patients who have been discharged has led to an increase in the amount of trash produced in the healthcare industry. According to Coronel, (2021), a growth in population results in an increase in the number of healthcare facilities, which in turn leads to an increase in the amount of waste produced by healthcare. It is anticipated that as a result of this rise, appropriate healthcare waste management in Abeokuta South Local Government would need a higher level of attention and priority than it has previously received (ASLG). The management of healthcare waste continues to provide a variety of issues, particularly since the economic position of the nation continues to deteriorate on a daily basis; thus, the management of healthcare waste has become a worry.

The management of healthcare waste has been the subject of a great number of studies, but very little or no research has been done on the separation of clinical waste, which is an essential component of healthcare waste management (Deo, 2022). Because it is the initial stage in clinical waste management, waste segregation is an extremely important aspect of waste management in the healthcare industry. The hazardous waste volume may be decreased by the use of waste segregation practices in the healthcare industry. After the trash from healthcare facilities have been separated, it will be much simpler to collect them, infectious waste will be stored appropriately, and they will be disposed of in a manner that will not endanger the health of either patients or healthcare staff, as well as the environment (WHO, 2014). Good organization, enough financing, and the active engagement of skilled staff are necessary components of effective waste management in the healthcare industry. It was discovered that healthcare institutions were not allocating resources to the management of clinical waste. To ensure the facility's long-term viability, it must set aside funds for the purchase of bags with color-coded labels and provide generators of healthcare waste with training on the correct sorting and disposal of trash. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the procedures that are used to manage medical waste at the various health institutions located within the Abeokuta South Local Government.

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