Evaluation of Waste Disposal Practices in Primary Healthcare Facilities in Rural Communities of Nigeria

Background: Medical waste, also referred to as healthcare waste, has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “all the waste generated within healthcare facilities, research centers, and laboratories related to medical procedures; including the same types of waste generated from other scattered sources and homes”. Objectives: The main aim of this project was to assess waste disposal practices in Primary health facility in Esan Central Local Goverrnment Area in Edo State. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among 65 staff members among primary health care facilities in Esan Central Local Government in Irrua, Edo state. The study involved using a simple random sampling technique. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21.0 software for descriptive statistics. The Chi square test was used to test for association and the level of significance was set as p < 0.05. Results: The study showed that majority of the participants (87%) had a good knowledge on health care waste management. Incineration (70.5%) is identified as the main method of disposal of waste along with sanitary landfill. As regards knowledge of the risk of poor disposal method, it was seen that the majority of the participants had good knowledge (85%) on the risk and negative impact this will have on people and the community at large. Conclusion: In this study, there was good knowledge on waste management and the participants understood the risk involved when there is poor management of waste.