Healthcare Waste Management and its Pollution Impact in Addis Ababa Bole Sub city Bole 17 Healthcare Center
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Date
2014-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The management of health care waste is of great importance due to its infectious and
hazardous nature that can cause undesirable effects on humans and the environment.
This study deals with the assessment of the existing practice, challenges and drawbacks
of the HCWM of Bole 17 healthcare center. Descriptive research design was used. Both
primary and secondary data have been used. Primary data has been collected through
the use of questionnaires, interviews, personal observation. The researcher chose the
respondents of this study using non probability sampling procedures. The questionnaires
were designed in order to get the feedback from the Healthcare center about the existing
waste management practice of Bole 17 healthcare center, interviews conducted with the
cleaners of the healthcare center who are the most expected exposed parts. The research
data analysis mainly used qualitative data analysis methods using Microsoft excel. The
study identifies the existed waste management practice, challenges it faced during the
application of the waste management, awareness gaps on segregation, collection
transportation and disposal of wastes. The question of how this healthcare center
manages its waste is a subject of contestation. The study revealed that the reasons for
low performance of HCWM in the healthcare center includes: Poor awareness, shortage
of enough and appropriate space for waste disposal, insufficient PPE , lack of Budget
,low standard of incinerator, Poor roll of the EPA and poor implementation and
controlling mechanism and absence of certification system. The MOH and EPA in
general and healthcare institutes in particular did not give attention to the HCWM
unlike the IP and as a result staff members, beneficiaries and nearby residents are
facing different health problems because of the unsafe management of hazardous
wastes. The MOH, EPA and other stakeholders need to revise the existing system and
their policy to incorporate this risk issue. Thus, the researcher recommends that the
current waste management practice needs to improve its wastes management practice
by arranging awareness creation program, allotting its own budget, working in
collaboration with EPA, and adopting auditing and certification mechanisms
,minimizing or reducing the existed challenges and revising and adopting or developing
practical policy
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Keywords
Bole 17 healthcare Center