Determinants of Proper Disposal of Plastic Waste among Health Workers at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Amaka, Awka, Anambra State

Abstract

Improper disposal of plastic waste has being a huge global environmental issue over time. With the emergence of COVID-19 and high prevalence of various infectious diseases, production of single use personal protective equipment escalated. And they are mostly made of plastic, making plastic waste from healthcare services increase tremendously. These plastic wastes from the hospital may contain infectious or toxic substances that pose a significant threat to health workers, waste handlers and to the public at large for those that will come in contact with the waste if improperly disposed. The drastic increase in medical plastic waste is overwhelming the environment and so, has been tagged a major environmental burden. As a result, medical facilities are called upon to look into their waste management protocol to ensure they are safely disposing their waste to avoid infection of the public and waste handlers and also to ensure environmental safety. This study is to determine the proper disposal of healthcare waste among healthcare workers in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka, Anambra State. This study was carried out using a sample size of 712 staff. Simple random sampling without replacement was used in other to avoid obtaining a bias response. The association and predictability of the dependent variables by independent factors were determined statistically using Chi-square and regression methods, respectively. From the findings of the study, it was observed that 302(42.4%) of the total respondents used and disposed of their plastic wastes properly, whereas 410 (57.6%) disposed of their plastic waste improperly. Improper disposal of medical waste could be as a result of unavailability of proper means of waste disposal, bad or no healthcare management policy on waste management and other factors. Healthcare workers are advised to make use of proper means of plastic waste disposal so as to avoid the negative effect.