Improper healthcare waste (HCW) management poses significant risks to the environment, human health, and socio-economic sustainability due to the infectious and hazardous nature of HCW. This research aims at rendering a comprehensive landscape of the body of research on HCW management by (i) mapping the scientific development of HCW research, (ii) identifying the prominent HCW research themes and trends, and (iii) providing a research agenda for HCW management towards a circular economy (CE) transition and sustainable environment. The analysis revealed four dominant HCW research themes: (1) HCW minimization, sustainable management, and policy-making; (2) HCW incineration and its associated environmental impacts; (3) hazardous HCW management practices; and (4) HCW handling and occupational safety and training. The results showed that the healthcare industry, despite its potential to contribute to the CE transition, has been overlooked in the CE discourse due to the single-use mindset of the healthcare industry in the wake of the infectious, toxic, and hazardous nature of HCW streams. The findings shed light on the HCW management domain by uncovering the current status of HCW research, highlighting the existing gaps and challenges, and providing potential avenues for further research towards a CE transition in the healthcare industry and HCW management.

由于医疗保健废物 (HCW) 的传染性和危险性，不当的医疗废物 (HCW) 管理会给环境、人类健康和社会经济可持续性带来重大风险。本研究旨在通过 (i) 绘制 HCW 研究的科学发展图，(ii) 确定突出的 HCW 研究主题和趋势，以及 (iii) 为 HCW 提供研究议程实现循环经济 (CE) 转型和可持续环境的管理。分析揭示了四个主要的 HCW 研究主题：(1) HCW 最小化、可持续管理和政策制定；(2) HCW 焚烧及其相关的环境影响；(3) 危险的医护人员管理做法；(4) HCW 处理和职业安全和培训。结果表明，尽管医疗保健行业有可能为 CE 转型做出贡献，但由于 HCW 的传染性、毒性和危险性，医疗保健行业的一次性思维方式在 CE 话语中被忽视了流。研究结果揭示了 HCW 研究的现状，突出了现有的差距和挑战，并为进一步研究医疗保健行业和 HCW 管理的 CE 转型提供了潜在途径，从而阐明了 HCW 管理领域。