Medical waste: the dark side of healthcare
Abstract Hospitals and other health facilities generate an ever-increasing amount of waste, approximately 15% of which may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive. The World Health Organization has been addressing the issue since the 1980s. After initially focusing on high-income countries, it then foc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz
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| Series: | História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/pdf/hcsm/v27s1/0104-5970-hcsm-27-s1-0231.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819172899084304384 |
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| author | Iris Borowy |
| author_facet | Iris Borowy |
| author_sort | Iris Borowy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Hospitals and other health facilities generate an ever-increasing amount of waste, approximately 15% of which may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive. The World Health Organization has been addressing the issue since the 1980s. After initially focusing on high-income countries, it then focused on low-income countries, with unsafe disposal methods in landfills and inadequate incinerators as major concerns. Gradually, the understanding of the issue has undergone several shifts, including from a focus on the component of medical waste considered “hazardous” to all forms of waste, and from accepting medical waste as a necessary downside of high-quality healthcare to seeing the avoidance of healthcare waste as a component of high quality healthcare. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:14:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dfdec32b798c4e739c68cbe99fa6cefa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1678-4758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:14:30Z |
| publisher | Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz |
| record_format | Article |
| series | História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos |
| spelling | doaj.art-dfdec32b798c4e739c68cbe99fa6cefa2022-12-21T18:13:59ZengFundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo CruzHistória, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos1678-475810.1590/s0104-59702020000300012Medical waste: the dark side of healthcareIris BorowyAbstract Hospitals and other health facilities generate an ever-increasing amount of waste, approximately 15% of which may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive. The World Health Organization has been addressing the issue since the 1980s. After initially focusing on high-income countries, it then focused on low-income countries, with unsafe disposal methods in landfills and inadequate incinerators as major concerns. Gradually, the understanding of the issue has undergone several shifts, including from a focus on the component of medical waste considered “hazardous” to all forms of waste, and from accepting medical waste as a necessary downside of high-quality healthcare to seeing the avoidance of healthcare waste as a component of high quality healthcare.http://www.scielo.br/pdf/hcsm/v27s1/0104-5970-hcsm-27-s1-0231.pdfhealthcare wastemedical wasteWorld Health Organization (WHO)incinerationrecycling |
| spellingShingle | Iris Borowy Medical waste: the dark side of healthcare História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos healthcare waste medical waste World Health Organization (WHO) incineration recycling |
| title | Medical waste: the dark side of healthcare |
| title_full | Medical waste: the dark side of healthcare |
| title_fullStr | Medical waste: the dark side of healthcare |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical waste: the dark side of healthcare |
| title_short | Medical waste: the dark side of healthcare |
| title_sort | medical waste the dark side of healthcare |
| topic | healthcare waste medical waste World Health Organization (WHO) incineration recycling |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/pdf/hcsm/v27s1/0104-5970-hcsm-27-s1-0231.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT irisborowy medicalwastethedarksideofhealthcare |