The rapid growth of the world population and corresponding rapid global development in medicine have caused an increase in the amount of healthcare waste generated in health facilities, hence causing many problems for the public health and environment of many communities. Healthcare waste management is an integral part of the hygiene and infection control within a healthcare facility because its mismanagement leads to nosocomial infections. The specific objectives of this research were to identify types of healthcare waste segregation, to evaluate the degree of safety of healthcare handlers, to know the quantity of healthcare waste, and to know methods of treatment and disposal. Results from the study showed that the calculated volumes of the non-infectious (general), infectious (including pathological waste), and highly infectious (sharps) are 20,000 m3, 35,000m3 and 13,125m3 respectively, and a total volume of 68,125 m3 of healthcare waste is generated per week. These wastes were not segregated properly and were treated together in an enclosed incinerator with no proper measures. Statistical tests done showed that the quantity of wastes and the safety practices of service providers are associated with a high risk of infection. This showed that the public health and the environment can be negatively impacted. Furthermore, the government and its partners are making some effort to see an improvement in healthcare waste management at 34 Military Hospital; however, healthcare waste is still a major problem for healthcare providers, patients, public health, and the environment. Notwithstanding, various measures are needed to be considered in order to minimize these problems, including proper education and training for healthcare providers, provision of standard waste management equipment, consulting foreign expertise, adhering to color-coding according to INWMP, and public education.
Published in | International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 13, Issue 4) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14 |
Page(s) | 163-176 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Waste Segregation, Healthcare Waste, Management of Hazardous Healthcare Waste, Disposal, Treatment, Healthcare, Waste Handlers
Do you collect waste in containers labelled BLACK, YELLOW or RED? | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | No | No Idea | ||||
Do you segregate healthcare waste? | Yes | Count | 80 | 2 | 4 | 86 |
% of Total | 80.0% | 2.0% | 4.0% | 86.0% | ||
No | Count | 7 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
% of Total | 7.0% | 2.0% | 1.0% | 10.0% | ||
No Idea | Count | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
% of Total | 3.0% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 4.0% | ||
Total | Count | 90 | 4 | 6 | 100 | |
% of Total | 90.0% | 4.0% | 6.0% | 100.0% |
Department | No of labeled Containers | Non-infectious waste (m3) | Infectious Waste (m3) | Highly Infectious (m3) | Chemical Waste (m3) | Total Volume (m3) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Medical ward | 7 | 1750 | 2625 | 875 | 0 | 5250 |
Paediatric ward | 5 | 875 | 1750 | 875 | 0 | 3500 |
Maternity ward | 8 | 875 | 4375 | 1750 | 0 | 7000 |
Male Surgical Ward | 5 | 875 | 2625 | 1750 | 0 | 5250 |
Female Surgical ward | 5 | 875 | 2625 | 1750 | 0 | 5250 |
Under 5s | 3 | 875 | 1750 | 875 | 0 | 3500 |
Admin | 7 | 3500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3500 |
Laboratory | 11 | 1750 | 5250 | 2625 | 0 | 9625 |
Pharmacy | 4 | 1750 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1750 |
Accident & Emergency | 6 | 875 | 3500 | 875 | 0 | 5250 |
Triage | 7 | 1750 | 3500 | 875 | 0 | 6125 |
Mortuary | 4 | 0 | 2625 | 875 | 0 | 3500 |
Research | 2 | 875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 875 |
Cycosocial | 1 | 125 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 125 |
Physiotherapy | 3 | 250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 250 |
Dental | 2 | 125 | 875 | 0 | 0 | 1000 |
Ophthalmology | 1 | 875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 875 |
Chest Clinic | 2 | 250 | 1750 | 0 | 0 | 2000 |
HIV | 1 | 875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 875 |
IDPC | 7 | 875 | 1750 | 3500 | 0 | 6125 |
TOTAL | 91 | 20,000 | 35,000 | 13,125 | 0 | 68,125 |
Waste disposal methods | Yes | No | No Idea | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Freq | % | Freq | % | Freq | % | Freq | % | |
Have improved incinerator | 74 | 74.0% | 15 | 15.0% | 11 | 11.0% | 100 | 100.0% |
Incineration practice | 71 | 71.0% | 15 | 15.0% | 14 | 14.0% | 100 | 100.0% |
Temperature for combustion efficiency | < 95% | > 95% | No Idea | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Response | Yes | Freq | 9 | 33 | 58 | 100 |
% | 9.0% | 33.0% | 58.0% | 100% |
The safety knowledge of PPEs | Yes | No | No Idea | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Freq | Percentage | Freq | Percentage | Freq | Percentage | Freq | Percentage | |
Use of PPEs on duty | 85 | 85.0% | 6 | 6.0% | 9 | 9.0% | 100 | 100.0% |
Total use of PPEs | 61 | 61.0% | 25 | 25.0% | 14 | 14.0% | 100 | 100.0% |
Yes | No | No Idea | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Do you use PPEs totally? | 61 | 25 | 14 | 100 |
Would you use personal protective equipment on duty? | 85 | 6 | 9 | 100 |
Total | 146 | 31 | 23 | 200 |
Department | No of labeled Containers | Non-infectious waste (m3) | Infectious Waste (m3) | Highly Infectious (m3) | Chemical Waste (m3) | Total Volume (m3) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Medical ward | 7 | 1750 | 2625 | 875 | 0 | 5250 |
Pediatric ward | 5 | 875 | 1750 | 875 | 0 | 3500 |
Maternity ward | 8 | 875 | 4375 | 1750 | 0 | 7000 |
Others | 71 | 16500 | 26,250 | 9625 | 0 | 52375 |
Total | 91 | 20,000 | 35,000 | 13,125 | 0 | 68,125 |
34MH | 34 Military Hospital |
AIDS | Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome |
EaPH | Environment and Public Health |
HBV | Hepatitis B Virus |
HCV | Hepatitis C Virus |
HCW | Health Care Workers |
HCW | Healthcare Waste |
HCWMS | Healthcare Waste Management Systems |
HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus |
INWMP | Integrated National Waste Management Policy |
IPC | Infection Prevention and Control |
MoHS-SL | Ministry of Health and Sanitation |
PPEs | Personal Protective Equipment |
SPSS | Special Package for Social Science |
UNCED | United Nations Conference on Environment and Development |
US EPA | United State Environmental Protection Agency |
US MWTA | United State Medical Waste Tracking Acts |
USAID | United States Agency for International Development |
WHO | World Health Organization |
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APA Style
Lebbie, S. E., Williams, M. Y., Seasy, D., Koroma, J. (2025). Evaluation of the Healthcare Waste Management at 34 Military Hospital, Sierra Leone. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 13(4), 163-176. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14
ACS Style
Lebbie, S. E.; Williams, M. Y.; Seasy, D.; Koroma, J. Evaluation of the Healthcare Waste Management at 34 Military Hospital, Sierra Leone. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2025, 13(4), 163-176. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14
@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14, author = {Sahr Emmanuel Lebbie and Martina Yeama Williams and David Seasy and James Koroma}, title = {Evaluation of the Healthcare Waste Management at 34 Military Hospital, Sierra Leone }, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis}, volume = {13}, number = {4}, pages = {163-176}, doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20251304.14}, abstract = {The rapid growth of the world population and corresponding rapid global development in medicine have caused an increase in the amount of healthcare waste generated in health facilities, hence causing many problems for the public health and environment of many communities. Healthcare waste management is an integral part of the hygiene and infection control within a healthcare facility because its mismanagement leads to nosocomial infections. The specific objectives of this research were to identify types of healthcare waste segregation, to evaluate the degree of safety of healthcare handlers, to know the quantity of healthcare waste, and to know methods of treatment and disposal. Results from the study showed that the calculated volumes of the non-infectious (general), infectious (including pathological waste), and highly infectious (sharps) are 20,000 m3, 35,000m3 and 13,125m3 respectively, and a total volume of 68,125 m3 of healthcare waste is generated per week. These wastes were not segregated properly and were treated together in an enclosed incinerator with no proper measures. Statistical tests done showed that the quantity of wastes and the safety practices of service providers are associated with a high risk of infection. This showed that the public health and the environment can be negatively impacted. Furthermore, the government and its partners are making some effort to see an improvement in healthcare waste management at 34 Military Hospital; however, healthcare waste is still a major problem for healthcare providers, patients, public health, and the environment. Notwithstanding, various measures are needed to be considered in order to minimize these problems, including proper education and training for healthcare providers, provision of standard waste management equipment, consulting foreign expertise, adhering to color-coding according to INWMP, and public education.}, year = {2025} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Evaluation of the Healthcare Waste Management at 34 Military Hospital, Sierra Leone AU - Sahr Emmanuel Lebbie AU - Martina Yeama Williams AU - David Seasy AU - James Koroma Y1 - 2025/07/16 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14 T2 - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis JF - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis JO - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis SP - 163 EP - 176 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7667 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20251304.14 AB - The rapid growth of the world population and corresponding rapid global development in medicine have caused an increase in the amount of healthcare waste generated in health facilities, hence causing many problems for the public health and environment of many communities. Healthcare waste management is an integral part of the hygiene and infection control within a healthcare facility because its mismanagement leads to nosocomial infections. The specific objectives of this research were to identify types of healthcare waste segregation, to evaluate the degree of safety of healthcare handlers, to know the quantity of healthcare waste, and to know methods of treatment and disposal. Results from the study showed that the calculated volumes of the non-infectious (general), infectious (including pathological waste), and highly infectious (sharps) are 20,000 m3, 35,000m3 and 13,125m3 respectively, and a total volume of 68,125 m3 of healthcare waste is generated per week. These wastes were not segregated properly and were treated together in an enclosed incinerator with no proper measures. Statistical tests done showed that the quantity of wastes and the safety practices of service providers are associated with a high risk of infection. This showed that the public health and the environment can be negatively impacted. Furthermore, the government and its partners are making some effort to see an improvement in healthcare waste management at 34 Military Hospital; however, healthcare waste is still a major problem for healthcare providers, patients, public health, and the environment. Notwithstanding, various measures are needed to be considered in order to minimize these problems, including proper education and training for healthcare providers, provision of standard waste management equipment, consulting foreign expertise, adhering to color-coding according to INWMP, and public education. VL - 13 IS - 4 ER -