Musa Fatema, Mohamed Ayatullah, Selim Nagah
Epidemiology and Public Health, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, QAT.
Community Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, QAT.
Cureus. 2020 May 25;12(5):e8281. doi: 10.7759/cureus.8281.
Background The improper management of wastes generated in healthcare facilities can severely affect the health of caregivers, patients, and members of the community. Medical waste management can be achieved with the cooperation of all workers and patients; however, nursing personnel plays a significant role in the whole process Therefore, nurses need to be well equipped with skills and practices in managing medical waste. This will result in the reduction of risks and hazards to their health. This study is done to assess the practice of nursing professionals regarding waste management across Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) hospitals in Doha and to identify the potential barriers toward medical waste management Methods An analytical cross‑sectional study conducted at four governmental hospitals in Doha city; Hamad General Hospital (HGH), Women's Hospital (WH), Rumiallalh Hospital (RH), and Al-Amal hospital. A stratified proportionate random sampling method was employed to recruit 420 nurses. Results The response rate among nurses was 82.3%, with most of them being females and non-Qatari. Overall, the correct practice of color-coding of different waste categories among nurses was 92.8%. Unavoidable exposure was identified by 60.3% of nurses as a barrier to waste management, and nurses working at the intensive care unit reported it at the highest percentage (67.2%) Conclusions The majority of nurses showed correct practice and could correctly match the color-coding of different waste categories. Unavoidable exposure and excessive production of waste were the most reported barriers. Excessive production of waste and unavoidable exposure should be further evaluated by quantifying medical waste and addressing appropriate control strategies tackling the identified barriers.
背景 医疗保健机构产生的废物管理不当会严重影响医护人员、患者及社区成员的健康。医疗废物管理需要所有工作人员和患者的合作才能实现；然而，护理人员在整个过程中起着重要作用。因此，护士需要具备良好的医疗废物管理技能和实践经验。这将降低对他们健康的风险和危害。本研究旨在评估多哈哈马德医疗公司（HMC）各医院护理专业人员在废物管理方面的实践情况，并确定医疗废物管理的潜在障碍。方法 在多哈市的四家政府医院进行了一项分析性横断面研究；哈马德总医院（HGH）、妇女医院（WH）、鲁米亚拉勒医院（RH）和阿玛尔医院。采用分层比例随机抽样方法招募420名护士。结果 护士的回应率为82.3%，其中大多数为女性且非卡塔尔人。总体而言，护士对不同废物类别的颜色编码正确做法率为92.8%。60.3%的护士认为不可避免的暴露是废物管理的障碍，在重症监护病房工作的护士报告的比例最高（67.2%）。结论 大多数护士表现出正确的做法，能够正确匹配不同废物类别的颜色编码。不可避免的暴露和废物的过量产生是报告最多的障碍。应通过量化医疗废物并制定应对已识别障碍的适当控制策略，进一步评估废物的过量产生和不可避免的暴露情况。
