Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the Doctors Degree of Technology: Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Although there is an abundance of health care waste information in South Africa, not enough studies have been done in public district hospitals particularly in rural areas. Hospitals find it difficult to comply with the minimum requirements of health care waste management guidelines, such as segregation of waste. If hazardous waste gets mixed with non-hazardous waste, waste disposal and treatment become costly. Furthermore, there has been a sharp increase in the amount of waste generated from health facilities. However, there seem to be uncoordinated efforts in each province in dealing with waste problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the process of operational and administrative procedures of health care waste management in hospitals. The study was conducted to facilitate the optimisation of waste management. A quantitative approach was chosen for this study because cause and effect relationships can more easily be identified, and the research is more structured and controlled. The project involved an enquiry into the perception of respondents on the procedures used in managing health care waste. Data was collected from 270 respondents out of 27 hospitals in nine provinces of South Africa. The informants were health care waste workers who were either directly or indirectly involved in waste management. A questionnaire was used as a research instrument. Results were analysed statistically using a special package for scientific studies. It has been found that in the midst of financial challenges, hospitals are unable to prioritise and rank absolutely important activities that are necessary to be undertaken to meet minimum requirements of health care waste management as laid out in the health care waste guidelines and directives. Shortages of waste equipment such as trolleys, waste containers, and temporary storage areas were the main challenges facing hospitals. The recommendations set the tone and provide a blueprint that health care managers may consider in facilitating improvement in the management of health care waste.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016. / Background: Health care workers produce various types of waste in the course of rendering health care services. Each classification of waste must be disposed according to the prescribed guidelines. Improper disposal of waste may pose a danger to employees, patients and the environment. Health care workers must have adequate knowledge on disposal of medical waste. This study was therefore done to determine the knowledge and practices of health care workers on medical waste disposal. Objectives: This study aims to determine the knowledge and practices of health care workers on medical waste disposal at a hospital in the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional research approach was used at a regional hospital for the Mpumalanga Province in the Bushbuckridge Municipality under the Ehlanzeni District. The study respondents included professional nurses, enrolled nurses, enrolled nursing assistants, medical doctors, dental health and allied health staff. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires analysed using International Business Management Statistical Package for Social Sciences 22 (IBM SPSS 22). Results: The results show that a high percentage of health care workers did not have adequate knowledge regarding disposal of medical waste but disposed medical waste appropriately. The results further show that knowledge and practice of health care workers had no association with age, gender and years of experience. There is an association between professional category and knowledge and practice of healthcare workers. Conclusion: Disposal of medical waste is the responsibility of all health care workers. There should be regular training of all categories of health care workers to improve their knowledge on disposal of medical waste and minimise the risks associated with improper waste management. This will further increase compliance with the guidelines of disposal of medical waste. Key words: Health care workers, medical waste, knowledge, practice, disposal

Thesis (MTech (Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / Pharmaceuticals have been formulated to influence physiological systems in humans, animals, and microbes but have never been considered as potential environmental pollutants by healthcare professionals. The human body is not a barrier to chemicals, but is permeable to it. Thus after performing their in-vivo functions, pharmaceutical compound introduced into the body, exit mainly via urine and faeces. Sewage therefore contains highly complex mixtures of chemicals in various degrees of biological potency. Sewage treatment works including those in South Africa, on the other hand, are known to be inefficient in removing drugs from sewage and consequently either the unmetabolised pharmaceutical compounds or their metabolites emerge in the environment as pollutants via several trajectories. In the environment, the excreted metabolites may even undergo regeneration to the original parent molecule under bacterial influence, resulting in "trans-vivo-pharmaceutical-pollution-cycles". Although all incinerators are known to generate toxins such dioxins and furans from the drugs they incinerate, all the medicines disposed by the hospitals under research, were incinerated, as the preferred option of disposal. The incineration process employed was found to be environmentally unsafe. Expired and unused medicines which the general public discard as municipal solid waste become landfilled. Because many landfill sites are not appropriately engineered, the unwanted drugs landfilled therein, leach into the surrounding ground water, which is the influent source of water treatment plants. Water treatment plants, including those in South Africa, are also inefficient in eliminating pharmaceutical compounds, releasing them in sub-therapeutic concentrations into potable tap water as pollutants, the full effects of which are yet to be determined.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Introduction The aim of the study was to determine the knowledge and practices of health care workers on medical waste disposal at George Masebe Hospital, Waterberg District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Method A cross sectional study was conducted and simple random sampling was used to select participants. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire which where total of 141 participants were sampled using the Slovin formula. Data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Version 22 and both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to answer the study objectives. Results The study shows that 43% of the respondents had good knowledge on medical waste disposal, 13% were not sure and 44% had insufficient knowledge. Forty nine percent (49%) of the respondents practiced safe medical waste disposal, 4, 3% were moderate in practice and 46, 1% had insufficient practice in place. There was no statistical significant relationship between knowledge and practice of medical waste disposal control measures of health care workers. Conclusion The study concluded that knowledge of the respondents on medical waste disposal was insufficient, there were satisfactory medical waste practices and there was no relationship between knowledge and practice.

Thesis (MTech(Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / Pharmaceuticals have been formulated to influence physiological systems in humans, animals, and microbes but have never been considered as potential environmental pollutants by healthcare professionals. The human body is not a barrier to chemicals, but is permeable to it. Thus after performing their in-vivo functions, pharmaceutical compound introduced into the body, exit mainly via urine and faeces. Sewage therefore contains highly complex mixtures of chemicals in various degrees of biological potency. Sewage treatment works including those in South Africa, on the other hand, are known to be inefficient in removing drugs from sewage and consequently either the unmetabolised pharmaceutical compounds or their metabolites emerge in the environment as pollutants via several trajectories. In the environment, the excreted metabolites may even undergo regeneration to the original parent molecule under bacterial influence, resulting in “trans-vivo-pharmaceutical-pol ution-cycles”. Although all incinerators are known to generate toxins such dioxins and furans from the drugs they incinerate, all the medicines disposed by the hospitals under research, were incinerated, as the preferred option of disposal. The incineration process employed was found to be environmentally unsafe. Expired and unused medicines which the general public discard as municipal solid waste become landfilled. Because many landfill sites are not appropriately engineered, the unwanted drugs landfilled therein, leach into the surrounding ground water, which is the influent source of water treatment plants. Water treatment plants, including those in South Africa, are also inefficient in eliminating pharmaceutical compounds, releasing them in sub-therapeutic concentrations into potable tap water as pollutants, the full effects of which are yet to be determined.