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Influencing factors behind inappropriate solid waste management of small clinics in a resource-constrained country

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Abstract

Appropriate clinical waste management is a critical concern in today’s era. Resource-constrained countries agonize greatly over this issue in order to mitigate inappropriate clinical waste management practices. The goal of this study is to assess factors behind inappropriate waste management of small clinics in resource-constrained countries. We tested the hypothesis that negligence of government, knowledge and awareness, and financial burden are three key factors behind inappropriate solid waste management of small clinics. A two-phase survey including a pilot study and a main study was conducted for exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively, in the fourth largest city of Pakistan, i.e., Hyderabad. One sample t test was used to validate the hypothesis, the correlation between the three key factors, and the location of the clinics were established. These factors were found to have a contribution to inappropriate waste management of small clinics. The hypothesis was then validated, and all three factors were found to have no significant variation in responses with the contrast of three types of clinic locations, namely, low-, medium-, and high-income areas. Responses were almost identical and bear equal significance from all locations, the financial burden factor is at the highest, the second factor is the negligence of government, and the third factor is that of knowledge and awareness. This study highlights the factors that are usually neglected and can help to improve solid waste management of small clinics in resource-constrained countries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China

    Aves Ahmed Khan

  2. School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

    Bilal Ahmed Khan

  3. Institute of Business Administration, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, 76090, Pakistan

    Haris Ahmed

  4. Department of Public Administration, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, 76090, Pakistan

    Shazia Shaheen Shaikh

Authors
  1. Aves Ahmed Khan
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  2. Bilal Ahmed Khan
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  3. Haris Ahmed
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  4. Shazia Shaheen Shaikh
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Correspondence to Aves Ahmed Khan.

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Highlights

• Eligible and motivated staff members are essential for safe waste management.

• Recruiting unqualified staff members contributes to inappropriate waste management.

• Lack of knowledge and awareness among clinic staff members.

• Negligence of the government causes inappropriate waste management of small clinics.

• Financial burden is a key factor behind inappropriate waste management of clinics.

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Khan, A.A., Khan, B.A., Ahmed, H. et al. Influencing factors behind inappropriate solid waste management of small clinics in a resource-constrained country. Environ Monit Assess 191, 770 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7971-5

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