Proper segregation, handling and disposal of medical waste is an imperative component on preventing potential risk for injury, infection, and environmental pollution. Globally there are well defined set of rules for handling medical waste but unfortunately, laxity and lack of adequate training and awareness in the execution of these rules can lead to serious health implications. Thus, the main objective for this study was to investigate the factors affecting segregation of waste in Chuka hospital. Specifically the study aimed at identifying the health care waste generated in the hospital, determining the knowledge level of health workers on waste segregation, assessing the attitude of staff on waste segregation and establishing the structural support towards waste segregation in the hospital. The study applied the descriptive research design and the target population was 330 comprising of doctors, nurses, other health workers and support staff drawn from Chuka level four hospital. The study employed the simple random sampling technique to get the study sample size. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 66 participant respondents as the study sample size. The research instrument for data collection was a questionnaire consisting both open-ended and closed-ended questions as per study variables. Reliability of the research instruments was tested and improved by use of test-retest method. Quantitative data was coded and analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for social Scientists) version 22 program. The descriptive statistics indices such as tables, frequencies distribution and percentages, pie charts and graphs were used to represent the data. The most common waste was the highly infectious waste infectious waste, sharps and the non-infectious waste which included food items, empty bottles for drinks, paper, and packaging material. Correct knowledge and safe practices of health care workers was very important when managing the health care waste. Few health care workers were trained on health care waste management and majority did not differentiate the different coded containers for disposing waste. The attitude of workers was aggravated by poor working condition, shortage of health care workers, overcrowded wards, poor communication and uncooperative behavior among some health care workers. There was a shortage of dust bines and bin liners in the hospital for waste segregation. In conclusion the hospital waste management practices should be improved at Chuka general hospital through training and provision of relevant equipment.
Published in | Rehabilitation Science (Volume 2, Issue 4) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14 |
Page(s) | 91-100 |
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), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Waste Management, Waste Segregation, Infection Prevention, Hospital Infection
[1] | Al-Khatib, I., Eleyan, D., & Garfield, J. (2016). A system dynamics approach for hospital waste management in a city in a developing country: the case of Nablus, Palestine. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 188(9). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5487-9. |
[2] | Anantpreet, S. (2012). Biomedical Waste Disposal. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Pvt. Ltd. |
[3] | Atieno, E. O (2014). Evaluation of Biomedical Waste Management: A case study of the Mater Hospital in Nairobi County – Kenya University of Nairobi. |
[4] | Azage M. (2013) Healthcare waste management practices among healthcare workers in healthcare facilities of Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. |
[5] | Banks, C., Chesshire, M., Heaven, S., & Arnold, R. (2011). Anaerobic digestion of source-segregated domestic food waste: Performance assessment by mass and energy balance. Bioresource Technology, 102(2), 612-620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.08.005. |
[6] | Chaerul, M., Tanaka, M., & Shekdar, A. (2008). A system dynamics approach for hospital waste management. Waste Management, 28(2), 442-449. |
[7] | Cheng, Y., Sung, F., Yang, Y., Lo, Y., Chung, Y., & Li, K. (2009). Medical waste production at hospitals and associated factors. Waste Management, 29(1), 440-444. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2008.01.014. |
[8] | Coad, A. (1992), Managing Medical Waste in Developing Countries, Report of a Consultation on Medical Wastes Management in Developing Countries, Geneva: WHO. |
[9] | De Titto E, & Savino AA (2012). Healthcare Waste Management: The Current Issues in Developing Countries. Waste Management Research Journal; 30(6): 559-561. |
[10] | GOK (2008–2012) the National Healthcare Waste Management Plan. |
[11] | GOK (2012). Republic of Kenya, Kenya Gazette supplement No 69, (Legislative supplement No. 37), Legal Notice No. 121 “Environmental Management and Co-Ordination (Waste Management) Regulations 2006” pp. 6-8. |
[12] | Hanumantha Rao, P. (2008). Report: Hospital waste management -- awareness and practices: a study of three states in India. Waste Management & Research, 26 (3), 297-303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0734242x08088693. |
[13] | Hossain, M. S. (2013), Infectious risk assessment of unsafe handling practices and management of clinical solid waste. International Journal of Environment Research in Public Health. Vol 10 (2): 556-567. |
[14] | Kemunto, M. E. (2012). Factors Influencing Hospital Infection Prevention and Control Practices Among Medical Staff in Kisii Level Five Hospital, Kisii County, Kenya; University of Nairobi. |
[15] | Kim S. (2010). Prevention of sharps injuries in the health care sector UK; Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN. |
[16] | Kochaga T. J. (2010) An Assessment of the Status of Health Care Waste Management in Kenya; A Case Study of Nyanza Province. |
[17] | Kote M (2011). Assessment of the health care waste generation rates and its management system in hospitals of Addis Abeba Ethiopia. BMC publication. |
[18] | Kothari, C. R. (2012). Research Methodology; Methods and Techniques (2nd ed.). New Delhi: New Age International Press Limited. |
[19] | Kumar R, Khan EA, Ahmed J, Khan Z, Magan M, Nousheen, et al. Healthcare waste management(HCWM) in Pakistan: current situation and training options. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad 2010 Oct-Dec; 22(4): 101-105. |
[20] | Lakbala, P. & Lakbala, M. (2013). Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Hospital Staff Management. 31 (7), 729-732. doi: 10. 1177/0734242x13484190. |
[21] | Liza E, (2012). Essential practice for infection prevention and control guidance for nursing staff. UK; Royal college of nursing, 20 Cavendish square, London W1G 0RN. |
[22] | Malini, A., & Eshwar, B (2015). Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Biomedical waste management among health care personnel in a tertiary care hospital in Egypt. International Journal of Biomedical Research, 6(3): 172-176. |
[23] | Manyele, S. V., Anicetus, H. and Bilia, M. H. (2003), Globalization and its Effects on Medical Waste Management in Tanzania, IET Annual Conference and General Meeting, 4th-5th, AlCC Arusha, Tanzania, 76-92. |
[24] | Mugenda, O. M., & Mugenda, A. G. (2013). Research Methods. (5th Edition) Nairobi: Acts Press Oxford University Press. |
[25] | MoH, Kenya, 2010, National Standards and Guidelines on Injection safety and Medical Waste management. 2(3), 58-66. |
[26] | Nandwani, S & Singhal, S. (2015). Awareness and practices regarding bio-medical waste management among health care workers in a tertiary care hospital in Delhi. Indian Journal Of Medical Microbiology, 33(4), 580. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0255-0857.167323. |
[27] | Nkonge, N. A., Mayabi, O. A., Kithinji, J., Magambo, K. (2012). Knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare waste management and associated risk. Journal of Community Health, 37(6): 1172. |
[28] | Oweis, R., Mohamad, A. and Ohood, A. (2005), Medical Waste Management in Jordan: A Study at the King Hussien Medical Centre, Waste Management, 25, 622-625. |
[29] | Patil, G. V. and Pokhre, K. (2005), Biomedical Solid Waste Management in an Indian Hospital: A Case Study, Waste Management, 25, 592-599. |
[30] | Stephen, O. A. and Elijah, I. O. (2011). Waste management in Nigeria. Journal of public Health and Epidemiology 13(3): 99-110. |
[31] | Vera F. (2010). Assessing the medical waste management practices and associated risk perception in Algarve hospital Portugal. |
APA Style
Lucy Kawira Gitonga. (2017). Factors Influencing Waste Segregation Among Staff in Chuka Level Four Hospital. Rehabilitation Science, 2(4), 91-100. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14
ACS Style
Lucy Kawira Gitonga. Factors Influencing Waste Segregation Among Staff in Chuka Level Four Hospital. Rehabil. Sci. 2017, 2(4), 91-100. doi: 10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14
@article{10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14, author = {Lucy Kawira Gitonga}, title = {Factors Influencing Waste Segregation Among Staff in Chuka Level Four Hospital}, journal = {Rehabilitation Science}, volume = {2}, number = {4}, pages = {91-100}, doi = {10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rs.20170204.14}, abstract = {Proper segregation, handling and disposal of medical waste is an imperative component on preventing potential risk for injury, infection, and environmental pollution. Globally there are well defined set of rules for handling medical waste but unfortunately, laxity and lack of adequate training and awareness in the execution of these rules can lead to serious health implications. Thus, the main objective for this study was to investigate the factors affecting segregation of waste in Chuka hospital. Specifically the study aimed at identifying the health care waste generated in the hospital, determining the knowledge level of health workers on waste segregation, assessing the attitude of staff on waste segregation and establishing the structural support towards waste segregation in the hospital. The study applied the descriptive research design and the target population was 330 comprising of doctors, nurses, other health workers and support staff drawn from Chuka level four hospital. The study employed the simple random sampling technique to get the study sample size. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 66 participant respondents as the study sample size. The research instrument for data collection was a questionnaire consisting both open-ended and closed-ended questions as per study variables. Reliability of the research instruments was tested and improved by use of test-retest method. Quantitative data was coded and analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for social Scientists) version 22 program. The descriptive statistics indices such as tables, frequencies distribution and percentages, pie charts and graphs were used to represent the data. The most common waste was the highly infectious waste infectious waste, sharps and the non-infectious waste which included food items, empty bottles for drinks, paper, and packaging material. Correct knowledge and safe practices of health care workers was very important when managing the health care waste. Few health care workers were trained on health care waste management and majority did not differentiate the different coded containers for disposing waste. The attitude of workers was aggravated by poor working condition, shortage of health care workers, overcrowded wards, poor communication and uncooperative behavior among some health care workers. There was a shortage of dust bines and bin liners in the hospital for waste segregation. In conclusion the hospital waste management practices should be improved at Chuka general hospital through training and provision of relevant equipment.}, year = {2017} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Factors Influencing Waste Segregation Among Staff in Chuka Level Four Hospital AU - Lucy Kawira Gitonga Y1 - 2017/12/27 PY - 2017 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14 DO - 10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14 T2 - Rehabilitation Science JF - Rehabilitation Science JO - Rehabilitation Science SP - 91 EP - 100 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2637-594X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rs.20170204.14 AB - Proper segregation, handling and disposal of medical waste is an imperative component on preventing potential risk for injury, infection, and environmental pollution. Globally there are well defined set of rules for handling medical waste but unfortunately, laxity and lack of adequate training and awareness in the execution of these rules can lead to serious health implications. Thus, the main objective for this study was to investigate the factors affecting segregation of waste in Chuka hospital. Specifically the study aimed at identifying the health care waste generated in the hospital, determining the knowledge level of health workers on waste segregation, assessing the attitude of staff on waste segregation and establishing the structural support towards waste segregation in the hospital. The study applied the descriptive research design and the target population was 330 comprising of doctors, nurses, other health workers and support staff drawn from Chuka level four hospital. The study employed the simple random sampling technique to get the study sample size. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 66 participant respondents as the study sample size. The research instrument for data collection was a questionnaire consisting both open-ended and closed-ended questions as per study variables. Reliability of the research instruments was tested and improved by use of test-retest method. Quantitative data was coded and analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for social Scientists) version 22 program. The descriptive statistics indices such as tables, frequencies distribution and percentages, pie charts and graphs were used to represent the data. The most common waste was the highly infectious waste infectious waste, sharps and the non-infectious waste which included food items, empty bottles for drinks, paper, and packaging material. Correct knowledge and safe practices of health care workers was very important when managing the health care waste. Few health care workers were trained on health care waste management and majority did not differentiate the different coded containers for disposing waste. The attitude of workers was aggravated by poor working condition, shortage of health care workers, overcrowded wards, poor communication and uncooperative behavior among some health care workers. There was a shortage of dust bines and bin liners in the hospital for waste segregation. In conclusion the hospital waste management practices should be improved at Chuka general hospital through training and provision of relevant equipment. VL - 2 IS - 4 ER -