Project Proposal: Analyzing Medical Waste Management in the UK

This project proposal investigates the effects of medical waste management practices in the United Kingdom. It begins with an abstract highlighting the global issue of medical waste generation and its potential hazards to human health and the environment. The introduction defines medical waste and its biohazardous nature, referencing incidents and statistics from the World Health Organization. The research aims to study the impact of poor waste management practices and propose treatment methods. The literature review explores the hazards of medical waste, including antibiotic resistance, dental waste risks, and mutagen disposal. The methodology includes secondary data analysis, surveys in fifty hospitals (split between private and government), interviews with hospital staff and patients, and a public awareness campaign. Data analysis will employ both qualitative and quantitative methods, with ethical considerations focused on protecting participants. The proposal outlines a timeline for the research and provides references to relevant sources.

Running head: PROJECT PROPOSAL
Project Proposal
Name of student
Name of University
Author Note

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Abstract:
Every person living in this world is dependent on essential medical care for the wellness
of health and life, but over thousands of years of practice and scientific advancement medical
industry now generates tones of waste every year and is disposed oftentimes in an unsafe
manner. According to a fact sheet provided by the world health organization, in 2018, 15% of the
medical waste generated worldwide is harmful to living beings. The research aims to analyze the
literature review as secondary data and study the general effects of medical waste on the
population and conduct social survey in fifty hospitals to find out the current condition of the
medical waste management in United Kingdom.

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Research Aim:.................................................................................................................................3
Literature review:.............................................................................................................................3
Hazards of Medical waste:...........................................................................................................3
Untreated Medical Waste disposal into the Environment Causing Antibiotic Resistance:.........4
Possible threats from dental waste:..............................................................................................4
Mutagen disposal:........................................................................................................................5
Research Methodology:...................................................................................................................5
Study of Secondary data:.............................................................................................................5
Survey to observe the current condition in hospitals:..................................................................5
Interviewing the hospital staffs and patients:..............................................................................6
Public Campaign to create awareness:........................................................................................6
Data Analysis:..............................................................................................................................7
Ethical considerations:.....................................................................................................................7
Research outcome:...........................................................................................................................8
Table 1: Time required for the research..........................................................................................8
References:......................................................................................................................................9

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Introduction:
Medical waste is defined as the type of disposable waste that is generated from healthcare
facilities and medical research facilities as well as laboratories. This kind of waste is generally
contaminated with infectious diseases, blood or body fluids expelled from an ailing patient.
Medical waste also consists of sharp objects that are used in these medical laboratory and
facilities which have the potential to injure people if disposed without proper treatment (Phillips
et al. 2013). Management of such waste is very important as these waste have a potential to start
a bio-hazardous epidemic. About 15 % of the medical waste generated every year is harmful to
living beings, according to a report provided by the World Health Organization (World Health
Organization, 2018). There have been a few incidents in the Untitled Kingdom due to untreated
poor medical waste disposal practice in the past, like the Corby toxic waste case, Aberfan
disaster and Spodden Valley asbestos controversy recently. The main aim of this research is to
develop a plan of action to study the effects of medical waste in the country for further
investigation.
Research Aim:
The aim of this research is to study the effect of poor waste management practices in the
United Kingdom and derive a potential treatment method to manage medical wastes.

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Literature review:
Hazards of Medical waste:
There are many potential health risks that come with disposal of medical waste.
Generally medical waste is contaminated with harmful microorganisms which maybe infectious
to people handling it as well as population exposed to the area. Antibiotic resistant species of
microorganisms are also present in such waste which can spread diseases. Medical field utilizes a
wide range of sharp objects that can injure the people who are handling it as well as people
exposed to it. Many cytotoxic drugs are also disposed as a part of medical waste which can have
adverse effect on the individual if exposed (Keat Sooaid Yun and Sriraman, 2013). Mercury or
dioxins are also are also released into the environment as a result of medical practices. People
who are responsible for sterilization of a healthcare facility often uses harsh chemicals that can
cause skin burns (Babanyara Ibrahim Garba Bogoro and Abubakar 2013). Incineration of
medical waste generates copious amount of carbon dioxide and chemical fumes that air released
in to the environment and cause air pollution.
Untreated Medical Waste disposal into the Environment Causing Antibiotic Resistance:
Release of medical waste also include disposal of pharmaceutical products into the
environment, which are oftentimes untreated (Wellington et al. 2013). Commencement of
antibiotics into an individual is generally the main cause behind the formation of antibiotic
resistant pathogens. Biological waste produces by these individuals can also act as a hazard in
terms of antibiotic resistant pathogen containing medical waste, which in turn spreads when in
contact with other living beings or being introduced into disposable water source (Finley et al.
2013).

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Possible threats from dental waste:
Modern dental practices have been using sophisticated techniques to improve and
restructure ones dental care. One of the most popular restorative substances used in dental
practice is amalgam or mercury. There have been many controversy regarding the ill effects of
mercury in biological systems, yet, amalgamated substances are being used regularly and
disposed after utilization into the environment. Lack of statistical data is absent which can be
used to study the effects country wise.
Mutagen disposal:
Chemical residues present in healthcare facilities that dispose their medical waste without
treatment into the sewerage canals that have unfavourable effects on the biological beings. Some
of the substances found in healthcare wastewaters are generally genotoxic in nature and have the
potential to cause carcinogenesis for over long periods of time (Kumar Mathur Singh and
Sharma 2014). Special care needs to be taken while handling such medical wastes. Care has to be
taken before disposing such compounds into the environment where such waters can cause
irrigation harm and also cause problems directly to anyone in contact with it.
Research Methodology:
Study of Secondary data:
The study from the literature review provides enough evidence regarding the harmful
effects of the waste generated from medical facilities and how its effects the population.
Survey to observe the current condition in hospitals:
A public survey can be organized to practically observe the disposable management
methods adopted in fifty different hospitals. The sample size is divided into two categories, 25

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
hospitals selected that are run under private organization and the other 25 hospitals under
government undertaking. These two surveys will allow us to understand the difference in the
waste management (Chudasama et al. 2017).
Interviewing the hospital staffs and patients:
A selected group of people of sample size 100 can be selected for a questionnaire round
and ask about how they feel regarding the medical waste disposing management in the area (Nie
et al. 2013). Two groups of fifty people are made for two subcategories of the hospitals. Out of
one of each other fifty group of people 25 people can be selected who are associated with the
health care facility, like the practitioners, nurses and other staff members who are directly
exposed to medical waste cleaning. The rest of the 25 people are outside of the hospital, who live
nearby the hospitals, or patient family members who will be asked the same set of questions.
The interview questions are as follows:-
 Do you think the hospital area is clean?
 How often is the hospital cleaned?
 Where is the hospital waste disposed?
 Are you visibly or physically exposed to the waste?
 If the above question is yes, then- describe the problem.
 Have there been any incidents of accidental waste disposal?
 If yes, then, How many?
 What is the Hospital authority doing about this problem?

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Public Campaign to create awareness:
A public awareness campaign can be organized by using placards and slogans to make
the public aware of the consequences of medical waste (Guerrero Maas and Hogland 2013).
Medical practitioners can also be requested to join in the campaign in the community to help
analyze the situation.
Data Analysis:
The analysis of the secondary and primary data can be done in the following ways:
 Quantitative Analysis
 Qualitative Analysis
The proposal of research considered, relies on both qualitative and quantitative data
analysis (Bernard 2017). Both the qualitative and quantitative data analysis is considered because
the topic contains surveys that need to be conducted and can be analyzed both qualitatively and
statistically.
Ethical considerations:
Every scientific research is bound by the ethical considerations that are provided by the
ruling government of the country (Faden Beauchamp and Kass 2014). There are although some
common laws that needs to be adhered to when conducting public surveys:-
1. Protecting the physical and mental health of the people being questioned.
2. Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the subjects involved in the questionnaire.
3. No subject involved can be subjected to unjustified deception.

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
4. The subject being questioned should be able to give voluntary consent of the survey and
be willing to be a part of the research. No children or minor can be questioned without
the presence of their guardian.
Research outcome:
Activity No. of days
1day 5
days
10
days
20
days
30
days
50
days
80
days
Topic Selection 
Secondary Data Collection  
Literature review Writing   
Planning Research Strategy  
Selecting Research Methods  
Primary Data Collection  
Analyzing Data Sets  
Interpretation of research Data 
Drawing Conclusion 
Draft Designing  
Submission of work  

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
Table 1: Time required for the research
Source: Created by Author

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
References:
Babanyara, Y.Y., Ibrahim, D.B., Garba, T., Bogoro, A.G. and Abubakar, M.Y., 2013. Poor
Medical Waste Management (MWM) practices and its risks to human health and the
environment: a literature review. Int J Environ Ealth Sci Eng, 11(7), pp.1-8.
Bernard, H.R., 2017. Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Rowman & Littlefield.
Chudasama, R., Rangoonwala, M., Sheth, A., Misra, S.K.C., Kadri, A.M. and Patel, U.V., 2017.
Biomedical Waste Management: A study of knowledge, attitude and practice among health care
personnel at tertiary care hospital in Rajkot. Journal of Research in Medical and Dental
Science, 1(1), pp.17-22.
Faden, R.R., Beauchamp, T.L. and Kass, N.E., 2014. Informed consent, comparative
effectiveness, and learning health care. N Engl J Med, 370(8), pp.766-768.
Finley, R.L., Collignon, P., Larsson, D.J., McEwen, S.A., Li, X.Z., Gaze, W.H., Reid-Smith, R.,
Timinouni, M., Graham, D.W. and Topp, E., 2013. The scourge of antibiotic resistance: the
important role of the environment. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 57(5), pp.704-710.
Guerrero, L.A., Maas, G. and Hogland, W., 2013. Solid waste management challenges for cities
in developing countries. Waste management, 33(1), pp.220-232.
Keat, C.H., Sooaid, N.S., Yun, C.Y. and Sriraman, M., 2013. Improving Safety-Related
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Nurses Handling Cytotoxic Anticancer Drug:

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PROJECT PROPOSAL
PharmacistsExperience in a General Hospital, Malaysia. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer
Prevention, 14(1), pp.69-73.
Kumar, M., Mathur, N., Singh, A. and Sharma, P., 2014. Genotoxic Hazard of healthcare
Wastewaters: A Review. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci, 3(10), pp.409-418.
Nie, Y., Mao, X., Cui, H., He, S., Li, J. and Zhang, M., 2013. Hospital survey on patient safety
culture in China. BMC health services research, 13(1), p.228.
Phillips, E.K., Conaway, M., Parker, G., Perry, J. and Jagger, J., 2013. Issues in understanding
the impact of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act on hospital sharps injuries. Infection
Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 34(9), pp.935-939.
Wellington, E.M., Boxall, A.B., Cross, P., Feil, E.J., Gaze, W.H., Hawkey, P.M., Johnson-
Rollings, A.S., Jones, D.L., Lee, N.M., Otten, W. and Thomas, C.M., 2013. The role of the
natural environment in the emergence of antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. The
Lancet infectious diseases, 13(2), pp.155-165.
World Health Organization. (2018). Health-care waste. [online] Available at:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs253/en/ [Accessed 5 Mar. 2018].