文章基本信息

标题：Stakeholders’ Practices and Perspectives on Solid Medical Waste Management: A Community Based Study in Accra, Ghana
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作者：Emilia A. Udofia ; Julius Fobil ; Gabriel Gulis 等
期刊名称：Journal of Environmental Protection
印刷版ISSN：2152-2197
电子版ISSN：2152-2219
出版年度：2018
卷号：09
期号：13
页码：1295-1313
DOI：10.4236/jep.2018.913081
出版社：Scientific Research Publishing
摘要：Solid medical waste (SMW) is hazardous and requires specific treatment prior to final disposal. Limited information addresses the management of SMW in non-traditional settings such as in households, traditional birth attendants’ (TBAs) homes and chemical seller (CS) shops. A descriptive, exploratory study was conducted to identify major disposal practices and perceived hazards associated with SMW and explore their views regarding segregation as a potential management option. Twenty-nine household members, 10 TBAs and 8 CS who volunteered to participate in the study were involved in 6 focus group discussions (FGDs). Additionally, five key informants in private sector waste management companies were interviewed. FGDs were audio recorded, transcribed and translated, manually coded into themes and sub-themes using an iterative approach, and integrated with data from the interviews. In households, medicines were discarded by dosage forms with solid forms discarded in the household bin, while syrups were mostly emptied into drains. TBAs buried material used for delivery in clients’ compounds and CS tended to burn expired medicines or discard them with general waste. Participants perceived the following as hazards associated with SMW: infection transmission, penetrative injury, poisoning and aesthetic nuisance. Despite this awareness, they reported barriers to source segregation as a potential management option. Barriers included implied consumer costs, lack of supportive logistics and operational knowledge, and possible injury. Reported methods of disposing SMW supported earlier studies and could be potentially hazardous if not addressed. Provision of storage facilities, supportive logistics and public sensitization might encourage source segregation as a potential management option for SMW in the community.
关键词：Medical Waste;Community;Segregation;Qualitative;Ghana