Investigation on the hospital employees'' willingness to the bio-medical waste reduction - On regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan

• Main Authors: Yu -Yang, 盧宇洋
• Other Authors: Pai-Haung Shih
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/77962311599352031081

碩士 === 輔英科技大學 === 環境工程與科學系碩士班 === 100 === Abstract It is a trend for the major hospitals to adopt the "bio-medical waste reduction" policy in recent years. In this study, we have made questionnaires by ourselves to target at the medical personnel of a regional hospital to explore how such variables as management policies, equipment, and facilities affect their behavior and then what factors may affect the willingness of medical staff to reduce the quantity of bio-medical waste. It is found the research results can be applied to engineering materials for their re-use, resulting in a sustainable development of resources, re-use, and even the ultimate goal zero waste. In this study, we have taken into consideration the current status of the hospital in terms of laws, technology, health care costs, environmental awareness, and clean-up costs. We have also explored how such variables as different backgrounds of the hospital staff, hospital policy, management, and execution affect the behavior and willingness of the hospital staff to reduce bio-medical waste. We have made questionnaires to survey on the willingness of the hospital staff to reduce bio-medical waste and then made statistical analysis to identify those influential factors leading to unwillingness to reduce bio-medical waste. We have further proposed some strategies to the hospital for its reference in the formulation and implementation of it policies in the future. The study results show that regulatory awareness and implementation awareness are correlated. Our analysis has found that different backgrounds among the medical staff have caused higher variability in each unit, which should be generated because of differences in types of waste, medical practices, and patients. It is therefore suggest that regulatory awareness should be strengthened, so that the hospital staff can better understand the waste classification criteria in their own units. Taking into considerations the environmental laws, health care costs, and practical implementation, the medical institution has achieved good results in both "bio-medical waste reduction” and “good use of its medical supplies” after it has conducted the education and training programs on waste classification standard practice and has carried out process improvement to cause changes on medical treatment behavior. It is also shown that the hospital has effectively lowered its waste disposal costs at the end points. Key words：bio-medical waste, willingness to reduce waste, medical waste.