Healthcare waste generation is an integral part of healthcare operations. Improper healthcare waste management and disposal can be detrimental to humans and the environment. The objective of this paper is to investigate the healthcare waste management practices, aiming to provide needed data to inform policy decisions. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional study. Quantitative data was obtained from 497 respondents who worked in 25 major healthcare facilities. Data was analyzed using (SPSS) version 23.0. Results indicated that 52.4% of respondents had knowledge about healthcare waste management. However, only 12% of the respondents were open to training in healthcare/biomedical waste management. Less than half of the respondent (47.5%) practiced waste segregation at the sources of generation. There were significantly more healthcare waste disposal materials available (P = 0.001) in private than government and quasi-government hospitals. Based on the major findings of the study, we recommend that adequate training as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE’s) should be provided to healthcare professionals to improve healthcare waste management. Complacence in adhering to Healthcare waste disposal guideline must be addressed.

中文翻译：

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加纳医院的医疗废物管理：相关的公共卫生和环境挑战

医疗废物的产生是医疗运营不可或缺的一部分。医疗废物管理和处置不当可能对人类和环境有害。本文的目的是调查医疗废物管理实践，旨在提供所需的数据来为政策决策提供信息。该研究是使用横断面研究进行的。定量数据来自在 25 个主要医疗机构工作的 497 名受访者。使用（SPSS）23.0版分析数据。结果表明，52.4% 的受访者了解医疗废物管理。然而，只有 12% 的受访者愿意接受医疗保健/生物医学废物管理方面的培训。不到一半的受访者 (47.5%) 在产生源实行废物分类。与政府和准政府医院相比，私立医院的医疗废物处理材料明显更多（P = 0.001）。根据研究的主要发现，我们建议应向医疗保健专业人员提供足够的培训和个人防护设备 (PPE)，以改善医疗废物管理。必须解决遵守医疗废物处理指南的自满情绪。