COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WASTE DISPOSAL PRACTICES OF SELECTED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HOSPITALS ON PUBLIC HEALTH IN MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined comparative analysis of waste disposal practices of selected public and private hospitals on public health in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary data were used. The primary data include questionnaire, personal interview and field survey. Documents produced by Government agencies such as Niger State Ministry of Health and Niger State Environmental Protection Agency were appraised to give more credence to the research work. Textbooks, journals, published and unpublished thesis, newspapers, and magazines formed part of the secondary data. A total of eighty (85) questionnaires were distributed throughout the six selected hospitals using simple random sampling. 79 questionnaires were returned and the analyses were based on the returned questionnaires. The methods of data analysis used for this study include frequency percentage, analysis of variance and chi-square analysis. The finding shows that landfills ranked the highest with 29 respondents, use of chemical ranked second with 21 respondents, incineration ranked third with 16 respondents, use of microwave ranked forth with 10 respondents and autoclaves and retort ranked the least with 3 respondents. In landfills Minna general hospital ranked the highest with 11 respondents and Faith hospital ranked the least with 2 respondents; in use of chemical, Minna general hospital ranked the highest with 7 respondents and Kpakungu hospital ranked the least with one respondent; in microwaves and other heat and steam-based technologies, Minna general hospital ranked the highest with 3 respondents and Taimako hospital ranked the least with one respondent; in autoclaves and retort, IBB hospital ranked the highest with 3 respondents and the remaining hospitals has no such equipment for waste disposal and in incineration, Kpakungu ranked the highest with 4 respondents and Faith hospital ranked the least with one respondent. Healthcare waste from the study area has proven that it has the potential of becoming very dangerous health hazard to the hospital staff, healthcare waste carriers, people around the hospital waste dump sites as well as the environment. From the results of the study, it is observed that medical waste management is not practiced according to National standard best practices.

 

Key Words: Hospital, Private Hospital, Public Hospital, Waste disposal practices

DOI: https://ejesm.org/doi/v11i2.10

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