The Open Waste Management Journal

2012, 5 : 1-4
Published online 2012 April 12. DOI: 10.2174/1876400201205010001
Publisher ID: TOWMJ-5-1

Problem of Home-Care Waste Recovery at Home-Visit Nursing Stations in Japan

Yukihiro Ikeda
Center for Occupational Safety and Health Management, Kinki University Hospital, 377-2 Oonohigashi Osakasayama, Osaka, 589-8511, Japan.

ABSTRACT

A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the problems involved in the infectious waste recovery at home-visit nursing stations. 1965 nursing stations were selected randomly, and questionnaires were sent to them. Nurses at 1314 stations (66.9%) responded to the survey and responses from 1283 stations were identified as suitable for analysis after excluding 26 stations that closed and five stations whose main field of care was psychiatry. Nursing stations using an automobile mainly were classified as “Auto stations” and all others were classified as “non-Auto stations”. Auto station nurses were more concerned with bad odor from waste. Non-Auto station nurses were more concerned with the physical weight of transported waste. Thus, in order to alleviate these concerns, it is necessary to provide nurses with containers for medical waste suited to home-visit nursing care and tools for preventing injuries.

Keywords:

Home-visit nursing, home-care waste management, medical waste, occupational safety.