Occupational Exposure to Medical Waste in Healthcare: A Global Risk Factor

Abstract

Occupational exposure to medical waste in the healthcare industry is a global risk factor, posing potential health hazards to healthcare workers, including transmitting infectious diseases and injuries from sharps. Healthcare facilities must implement proper medical waste management practices and provide proper protective equipment and training to their employees to minimize this risk. Healthcare workers are at high risk of infection from blood-borne pathogens, such as Hepatitis B and C viruses and Human Immunodeficiency. Health workers tend to perceive severe injuries as health hazards. Sharps or 'needle-stick' injury, a cut or puncture wound resulting in skin penetration by a hypodermic needle, surgical blade, fragment of glass or metal, or other sharp items, including rigid plastic, is the primary hazard for those working with healthcare wastes in hospitals and health facilities. The transmission of blood viruses (BBVs) is the main risk. Still, there is a considerable list of pathogens that cause infection after accidental exposure to the patient's blood and body fluids. Health workers in the hygiene field who are in direct contact with medical waste from the collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of waste are more susceptible to infectious injuries resulting from medical waste. This article highlights and discusses a specific point, which exposes hospital cleaning workers to accidents, cuts, and scratches on the skin by sharp tools that may be contaminated with the blood and bodies of the patients, an attempt to understand the method and reasons behind the occurrence of such accidents and the search for defects in the management of medical waste that led to the presence of Such injuries are in hospitals cleaning workers. Local and international governmental authorities and entities involved in cooperation with other private sectors should take measures such as safety training and standard safety measures to reduce the risk of needle-stick sharp injuries and promote the health of HCWs in different occupational settings of healthcare systems. The development of safety management systems and workplace safety training. It is necessary to detect and examine hygiene workers periodically and continuously for infectious diseases to avoid transmission of infection to others and treat the disease before it aggravates.