Hazardous Waste Management Practices of Public and Private Clinics in Iba, Zambales

Management of hazardous waste is a worldwide challenge (Fazzo et al., 2017). The main purpose of this study is to see if there is a difference in the practices of nurses in the public and private setting regarding the Handling and Storage, Collection and Transport, Treatment and Disposal of the clinical generated hazardous waste products. Following proper protocols and standard procedures of hazardous waste management is highly important (Chartier et al., 2014). The respondents are the clinical staff, which includes doctors, nurses, medical technologists and other health personnel. The study involves the insights of twenty-five (25) respondents from public clinics and thirteen (13) respondents from private clinics. The research study used the comparative method of research to compare the private clinics and public clinics for the clinical related factors to the hazardous waste management practices among identified clinics in Iba, Zambales during the fiscal year 2019. Results revealed that there is a significant difference on perception of the respondents on the clinical factors affecting waste management practices between private and public hospital/clinic in terms of policies and standard procedures and facilities and supplies. Furthermore, there is no significant difference on perception of the respondents on the clinical factors affecting waste management practices between private and public hospital/clinic in terms of roles and responsibilities.In the view of the findings and conclusion, the researchers offer the following recommendations that there should be an annual seminar or symposium for the waste handler about current trends in waste management practices in order to gain new updates.