Factors Influencing Healthcare Waste Management Effectiveness: Challenges and Interventions

Authors

  • Muhamad Yusof Abdul Fuzi Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah Larut Matang and Selama, 34000 Taiping, Perak, Malaysia ; Centre for Environmental Health and Safety Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA,Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Siti Rohana Mohd Yatim Centre for Environmental Health and Safety Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA,Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Nazri Che Dom Centre for Environmental Health and Safety Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Kartini Ilias Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiTM Cawangan Selangor, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Rezania Asfiradayati Public Health Department, University of Muhammadiyah Surakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v10i31.6532

Keywords:

healthcare waste; awareness; practices; Malaysia

Abstract

Healthcare waste (HCW) is considered hazardous as it might contain infectious agents that pose environmental and public health risks. It is vital to ensure all healthcare facilities have a good level of healthcare waste management (HCWM). A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted involving 10 participants from medical and non-medical personnel of health clinics and concession companies in Perak. Two major themes emerged from the FGD. The first theme focuses on challenges in HCWM practices, highlighting several barriers that hinder effective HCWM. The second theme revolves around interventions that could improve HCWM practices, emphasizing educational and organizational strategies.

References

Agamuthu, P., & Barasarathi, J. (2021). Clinical waste management under COVID-19 scenario in Malaysia. Waste Management and Research, 39(1_suppl), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X20959701

Anozie, O. B., Lawani, L. O., Eze, J. N., Mamah, E. J., Onoh, R. C., Ogah, E. O., Umezurike, D. A., & Anozie, R. O. (2017). Knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare managers to medical waste management and occupational safety practices: Findings from southeast Nigeria. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 11(3), IC01–IC04. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/24230.9527

Bazrafshan, E., & Kord Mostafapoor, F. (2011). Survey of medical waste characterization and management in Iran: A case study of Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Waste Management and Research, 29(4), 442–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X10374901

Behnam, B., Oishi, S. N., Uddin, S. M. N., Rafa, N., Nasiruddin, S. M., Mollah, A. M., & Hongzhi, M. (2020). Inadequacies in hospital waste and sewerage management in chattogram, Bangladesh: Exploring environmental and occupational health hazards. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(21), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219077

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol, 3(2), 77–101.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In: Cooper H, editor. APA handbook of research methods in psychology. Washington (DC): American Psychological Association, 2.

Department of Statistic, M. (2021). COMPENDIUM OF ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS, MALAYSIA 2021 ENVIRONMENT (Issue November). https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiU4uXauNH7AhV_63MBHVzmB-YQFnoECCAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dosm.gov.my%2Fv1%2Findex.php%3Fr%3Dcolumn%2FpdfPrev%26id%3DVFRCSEtSRlRWWmxoNlRLTTYrb1FVdz09&usg=AOvVaw2iutYXQthQGbsGza9-f3

Department of Statistics. (2020). POKET STATS NEGERI PERAK ST1.

Deress, T., Hassen, F., Adane, K., & Tsegaye, A. (2018). Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice about Biomedical Waste Management and Associated Factors among the Healthcare Professionals at Debre Markos Town Healthcare Facilities, Northwest Ethiopia. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/7672981

DOE. (2009). Guidelines on the Handling and Management of Clinical Waste in Malaysia. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT.

Ghasemi, M. K., & Yusuff, R. B. M. (2016). Advantages and disadvantages of healthcare waste treatment and disposal alternatives: Malaysian scenario. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 25(1), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/59322

Gizalew, E., Girma, M., Haftu, D., Churko, C., & Girma, Z. (2021). Health-care waste management and risk factors among health professionals in public health facilities of south Omo Zone, South West Ethiopia, 2018. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 13, 119–128. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S300729

Janik-Karpinska, E., Brancaleoni, R., Niemcewicz, M., Wojtas, W., Foco, M., Podogrocki, M., & Bijak, M. (2023). Healthcare Waste—A Serious Problem for Global Health. In Healthcare (Switzerland) (Vol. 11, Issue 2). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11020242

Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. B. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches. In SAGE Publications, Inc. (Fifth).

Joshi, S. C., Diwan, V., Tamhankar, A. J., Joshi, R., Shah, H., Sharma, M., Pathak, A., Macaden, R., & Lundborg, C. S. (2015a). Staff perception on biomedical or health care waste management: A qualitative study in a rural tertiary care hospital in India. PLoS ONE, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128383

Joshi, S. C., Diwan, V., Tamhankar, A. J., Joshi, R., Shah, H., Sharma, M., Pathak, A., Macaden, R., & Lundborg, C. S. (2015b). Staff perception on biomedical or health care waste management: A qualitative study in a rural tertiary care hospital in India. PLoS ONE, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128383

Joshi, S., Waghmare, R., Muntode, P., Joshi, A., Mohammad Ashfaque, A. R., & Thakur, R. (2020). Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices among the Healthcare Workers Regarding Biomedical Waste Management in a Tertiary Care Hospital from Central India. Journal of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University.

Laor, P., Suma, Y., Keawdounglek, V., Hongtong, A., Apidechkul, T., & Pasukphun, N. (2018). Knowledge, attitude and practice of municipal solid waste management among highland residents in Northern Thailand. Journal of Health Research, 32(2), 123–131. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHR-01-2018-013

Lin, J., Gao, X., Cui, Y., Sun, W., Shen, Y., Shi, Q., Chen, X., & Hu, B. (2019). A survey of sharps injuries and occupational infections among healthcare workers in Shanghai. Annals of Translational Medicine, 7(22), 678–678. https://doi.org/10.21037/atm.2019.10.42

Meleko, A., & Adane, A. (2018). Assessment of Health Care Waste Generation Rate and Evaluation of its Management System in Mizan Tepi University Teaching Hospital (MTUTH), Bench Maji Zone, South West Ethiopia. Annals of Reviews & Research, 1(4). https://doi.org/10.19080/arr.2018.01.555566

Mol, M. P. G., & Caldas, S. (2020). Can the human coronavirus epidemic also spread through solid waste? In Waste Management and Research (Vol. 38, Issue 5, pp. 485–486). SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X20918312

Mugivhisa, L. L., Dlamini, N., & Olowoyo, J. O. (2020). Adherence to safety practices and risks associated with health care waste management at an academic hospital, pretoria, south africa. African Health Sciences, 20(1), 453–468. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v20i1.52

Nilashi, M., Samad, S., Manaf, A. A., Ahmadi, H., Rashid, T. A., Munshi, A., Almukadi, W., Ibrahim, O., & Hassan Ahmed, O. (2019). Factors influencing medical tourism adoption in Malaysia: A DEMATEL-Fuzzy TOPSIS approach. Computers and Industrial Engineering, 137(August), 106005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.106005

Oroei, M., Momeni, M., Palenik, C. J., Danaei, M., & Askarian, M. (2014). A qualitative study of the causes of improper segregation of infectious waste at Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 7(3), 192–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2014.01.005

Prüss-Ustün, A., Wolf, J., Corvalán, C., Neville, T., Bos, R., & Neira, M. (2017). Diseases due to unhealthy environments: An updated estimate of the global burden of disease attributable to environmental determinants of health. Journal of Public Health (United Kingdom), 39(3), 464–475. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdw085

WHO. (2014a). Safe management of wastes from health-care activities (2nd ed.).

WHO. (2014b). Safe management of wastes from health-care activities (2nd ed.).

WHO. (2018). Health-care waste. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/health-care-waste

Zamparas, M., Kapsalis, V. C., Kyriakopoulos, G. L., Aravossis, K. G., Kanteraki, A. E., Vantarakis, A., & Kalavrouziotis, I. K. (2019). Medical waste management and environmental assessment in the Rio University Hospital, Western Greece. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 13(April), 100163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2019.100163

Published

2025-02-01

How to Cite

Abdul Fuzi, M. Y., Mohd Yatim, S. R., Che Dom, N., Ilias, K., & Asfiradayati, R. (2025). Factors Influencing Healthcare Waste Management Effectiveness: Challenges and Interventions. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 10(31). https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v10i31.6532

Most read articles by the same author(s)