Healthcare waste management practices and risk perceptions: Findings from hospitals in the Algarve region,Portugal |
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| Authors: | Vera Ferreira Margarida Ribau Teixeira |
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| Institution: | 1. Laboratory of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece;2. Medical Biopathologist, General Hospital of Xanthi, Greece;1. The School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton, Northampton, NN2 7JD, UK;2. Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy;2. Centre for Sustainable Waste Management, School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK;1. School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, PR China;2. School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China;3. Zhoupu Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, PR China;1. Research Laboratory on Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Management in Developing Countries (CeTAmb Lab), Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture, Land, Environment and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Italy;2. Centre for Sustainable Waste Management, School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK;1. Preventive Medicine Department, Alcorcón University Hospital Foundation, Madrid, Spain;2. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain |
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| Abstract: | The management of healthcare wastes is receiving greater attention because of the risks to both human health and the environment caused by inadequate waste management practices. In that context, the objective of this study was to analyse the healthcare waste management practices in hospitals of the Algarve region, Portugal, and in particular to assess the risk perceptions of, and actual risk to, healthcare staff. The study included three of the six hospitals in the region, covering 41% of the bed capacity. Data were collected via surveys, interviews, and on-site observations. The results indicate that waste separation is the main deficiency in healthcare waste practice, with correct separation being positively related to the degree of daily contact with the waste. Risk perceptions of healthcare staff show the highest levels for the environment (4.24) and waste workers (4.08), and the lowest for patients (3.29) and visitors (2.80), again being positively associated with the degree of daily contact. Risk perceptions of healthcare staff are related to the difficulties of the correct separation of wastes and the lack of knowledge concerning the importance of that separation. The risk of infection with needlesticks/sharps is higher during patient care than during waste handling, and the frequency of these injuries is related to the daily tasks of each healthcare group (doctors, nurses, and housekeepers). Furthermore, legislative definitions and classifications of healthcare wastes appear to have conditioned the management practices associated with, and the perceptions of risk concerning, healthcare wastes. |
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