Investigation of the Hospital Waste Management in Iran: a Case Study of the Kermanshah Province During 2015-16 Years

The management of healthcare wastes is receiving greater attention because of the risks to both human health and the environment caused by inadequate waste management practices. In that context, the objective of this study was to investigate the hospital solid waste management in Kermanshah city, Kermanshah province, Iran based on Ministry of Health and Medical Education checklist which is related to environmental health of hospitals.

This study (qualitative-quantitative) was performed in two interval time in two consecutive years through a valid checklist of waste management process of Iranian Ministry of Health which include all steps of medical waste management. The quantity of hospital waste produced was measured during one week in autumn session during study interval. 

The results of this study showed that the total averages of desirability in waste management compared to health standards in Kermanshah city hospitals were 70.38 ± 15.5 and 74.3 ± 14.8 in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The average desirability of waste management in governmental, military, private and social hospitals improved from 61 to 65.14, 75 to 79, 87 to 90 and 84.5 to 86%, respectively in two years of study interval. The average (weighted mean) of total hospital wastes generation rate (in Kermanshah city) was 4.06 kg/bed-day and for governmental, military, private and social hospitals were 4.69, 3.26, 2.7 and 1.62 kg/bed-day, respectively. The results indicated that there was a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between hospital active bed and medical wastes production.

From the results of this study, the score of waste management practices in Kermanshah hospitals are evaluated as moderate. Therefore, more efforts, monitoring and control should be implied to achieve the desired state of hospital waste management