Title: Management of healthcare waste in national teaching and referral hospitals in Kenya

Authors: Ananias Njagi Nkonge; Japhet K. Magambo; Jacob Kithinji; Alfred O. Mayabi; Ndwiga Taratisio

Addresses: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Moi University, Box 4606 code 030100 Eldoret, Kenya ' Meru University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 972-60200, Meru, Kenya ' Chemistry Department, University of Nairobi, Box 30197 Nairobi, Kenya ' Department of Architecture and Engineering, Jomo-Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Box 62000 Nairobi, Kenya ' Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Box 4606 code 030100 Eldoret, Kenya

Abstract: Healthcare waste management in health facilities should include quantification of all categories to support minimisation strategies. The hazardous healthcare waste categories under study, infectious, pathological, sharps and chemical waste were weighed in the two teaching and referral institutions, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Moi Teaching Hospital (MTRH) during the wet and dry season. The comparison for the two hospitals, during the wet season was significant for infectious waste (0.0001) but not so for pathological waste (p = 0.7393) and sharps waste (p = 0.3363). During the dry season, coefficient of variation for the two hospitals was significantly different, infectious waste (p = 0.0027) and pathological waste (p = 0.0086). Sharps waste was not significant (p = 0.3615). The studied hazardous healthcare waste generation rate was 0.61 kg/bed/day for KNH and 1.03 kg/bed/day for MTRH. The two institutions should practice healthcare waste minimisation and segregate their waste accurately.

Keywords: healthcare waste; category segregation; quantification; referral hospitals; waste management; national teaching hospitals; Kenya; wet season; dry season.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2014.064087

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2014 Vol.14 No.2, pp.199 - 209

Received: 21 Dec 2012
Accepted: 22 Sep 2013
Published online: 30 Aug 2014 *

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