Humans ; Medical Waste Disposal ; Occupational Health

OBJECTIVES: An automatic needle destroyer (ANDY) was developed to prevent needlestick injuries, and usability tests were conducted in several hospitals. The addition of extra features to the ANDY is in progress, such as data collection and automatic identification of used syringes. Thus, this report describes how the ANDY can be used to track the data of used syringes. METHODS: The motor torque required for barrel separation differs according to syringe diameters. By monitoring the electric current which is consumed for the motor torque, the type of syringe can be identified. Twelve prototypes were produced, and five usability tests were conducted in hospitals. RESULTS: After use, a syringe is inserted into the proposed device, and the needle portion is then cut and separated from the syringe body (barrel) and discarded. The needles are collected in a sharps container for hygienic disposal, and the barrel is dropped into a general medical waste container. CONCLUSIONS: The ANDY can be used to track the syringe used for each patient. The barcode can be read while the syringe rotates in the main body of the ANDY with a built-in omnidirectional scanner. Collection of information during syringe disposal can facilitate stock management. This system could also be extended to other types of consumable medical devices, although it would still be a challenge to differentiate each medical device.
Data Collection* ; Disposable Equipment ; Equipment and Supplies ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Medical Waste ; Medical Waste Disposal ; Needles ; Needlestick Injuries ; Syringes* ; Torque

BACKGROUND: The increasing production of un-recycled waste is a great threat to public health. Therefore, assessment and measurement of people's beliefs and perceptions with regard to these threats can contribute to the development of suitable educational messages promoting waste separation behaviors. This study aimed to carry out the scale development and psychometric evaluation of behaviors and beliefs associated with waste separation among female students. METHOD: This methodological research was performed in 2019. The primary questionnaire was developed based on the assessment of waste separation beliefs and behaviors based on the extended parallel process model. Afterwards, to confirm the content and face validity of the research tool, the opinions of 14 faculty members and certain students were asked for, respectively. In order to assess the construct validity of the questionnaire, exploratory factor analysis was performed based on the data collected from 386 female students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The internal and external reliability of the tool was determined through estimating Cronbach's alpha and test-retest based on intraclass correlation (ICC) index, respectively. RESULTS: The mean age and academic semester of the students were 22 ± 1.9 years and 5.58 ± 2.6, respectively. The primary version of the questionnaire was designed with 65 items; one item was omitted during the content validity process. Construct validity with factor analysis technique yielded nine dimensions including 64 items with a factor loading above 0.3. The overall reliability of the research tool was confirmed at Cronbach's alpha of 0.87. Furthermore, the ICC of the entire questionnaire was 0.89. CONCLUSION According to the results of the study, the final 64-item questionnaire could be used by various researchers to assess waste separation beliefs and behaviors considering suitable psychometric features.
Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Medical Waste Disposal ; Psychometrics ; Students, Medical ; psychology ; Young Adult

Humans ; Medical Waste Disposal ; methods ; standards ; Public Health Administration ; legislation & jurisprudence ; standards

Health Facilities ; Humans ; Medical Waste Disposal ; methods ; standards ; Public Health Practice ; standards

OBJECTIVE: This paper evaluated the personnel of three public and three private hospitals in the Metro Manila area in terms of their knowledge of the (1) Hospital Waste Committee at their hospital and (2) the general guidelines of segregation and handling of hospital wastes.

METHODS: Convenience sampling was used. Nurses, medical technologists, and janitorial staff present at three private and three public tertiary hospitals in south Manila during respective data collection visits were given a self-administered questionnaire.

RESULTS: The majority of those included in the study had correct knowledge regarding the Waste Management Committee of their particular hospital but did not have enough knowledge regarding general waste management, particularly sharps waste management. The medical technologists and nurses in both private and public hospitals had about the same knowledge and awareness regarding hospital policies and sharps waste management; however, there were differences between the knowledge and awareness of private and government hospital janitorial staff. Two of the perceived problems in waste management of the hospitals were (1) the general lack of knowledge regarding waste management, specifically sharps waste and (2)the lack of hospital support in terms of provision of proper waste disposals.

CONCLUSION: Workers involved in sharps waste management-in tertiary hospitals had enough knowledge regarding the Waste Management Committee, but the respondents did not have enough knowledge regarding waste management in general and sharps waste management in particular. Problems perceived by respondents are: lack of knowledge regarding waste management and lack of hospital support.

Human ; Male ; Female ; .tertiary Care Centers ; Medical Laboratory Personnel ; Waste Management ; Hospitals, Private ; Refuse Disposal ; Hospitals, Public ; Surveys And Questionnaires ; Government

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Health Care Surveys ; Health Status ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Waste Disposal ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Health ; Personnel, Hospital ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo develop suitable methods for safety destruction of tetramethylene disulfotetramine (TETS) and the medical wastes polluted by TETS.

METHODSThe chemical stability of TETS was evaluated under the conditions of acid, alkali and high temperature. TETS was treated with sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and nitric acid under various treatment conditions, i.e. concentration, temperature and time, followed by determining remaining TETS using gas chromatograms to estimating the degradation efficiency of TETS. TETS was put into ampoule and heated under the different conditions of temperature and time. After heat treatment, TETS residue was determined. For evaluating the absorption factor of active carbon to TETS in water and blood, active carbon was added into the water and blood with content of TETS, incubated at room temperature for 24 hours, and then determined the remaining TETS in water and blood.

RESULTSThe complete degradation of TETS was achieved by one of the following treatments: heating with 6.0 mol/L hydrochloric acid at 100 degrees C for half an hour, heating with 3.0 mol/L hydrochloric acid or 6.0 mol/L sodium hydroxide at 100 degrees C for 3 hours, mixing with concentrated sulfuric acid or nitric acid at room temperature for 24 hours, and dry heating at 300 degrees C for 4.5 hours. Active carbon showed a marked effectiveness in absorbing the TETS in blood and water, with the mean absorption efficiency of over 90%.

CONCLUSIONSThe results of this study suggest that TETS powder should be degraded by acid or alkali, and that the solid medical wastes polluted by TETS should be destroyed at high temperature. For the blood and water having contents of TETS, the active carbon should be used as to absorbing the TETS and then be destroyed at high temperature.

Bridged-Ring Compounds ; chemistry ; Capillary Electrochromatography ; Chromatography, Gas ; Hydrochloric Acid ; chemistry ; Medical Waste Disposal ; methods ; Nitric Acid ; chemistry ; Sodium Hydroxide ; chemistry ; Sulfuric Acids ; chemistry ; Temperature

OBJECTIVES: Emergency medical personnel (EMPs) are pre-hospital emergency responders who are at risk of exposure to infections and may also serve as a source for the transmission of infections. However, few studies of infection control have specifically addressed EMPs in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea). The goal of this study was to assess the current status of infection prevention and control programs (IPCPs) for EMPs in Korea. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to quantitatively assess the resources and activities of IPCPs. A total of 907 EMPs in five metropolitan cities completed a structured questionnaire from September 2014 to January 2015. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multi-response analysis, and the chi-square test. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 34.8+/-15.1 years. IPCPs were found to have weaknesses with regard to the following resources: the assignment of infection control personnel (ICP) (79.5%), hand hygiene resources such as waterless antiseptics (79.3%), the use of paper towels (38.9%), personal protective equipment such as face shields (46.9%), and safety containers for sharps and a separated space for the disposal of infectious waste (10.1%). Likewise, the following activities were found to be inadequately incorporated into the workflow of EMPs: education about infection control (77.5%), post-exposure management (35.9%), and the decontamination of items and spaces after use (88.4%). ICP were found to have a significant effect on the resources and activities of IPCPs (p<0.001). The resources and activities of IPCPs were found to be significantly different among the five cities (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: IPCPs for EMPs showed some limitations in their resources and activities. IPCPs should be actively supported, and specific IPCP activities for EMPs should be developed.
Adult ; Cross Infection/*prevention & control ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Female ; Hand Hygiene ; Health Personnel/*psychology ; Humans ; *Infection Control ; Male ; Medical Waste Disposal ; Middle Aged ; Protective Devices ; Republic of Korea ; Self Report ; Surveys and Questionnaires