The views of the nursing students about the medical wastes and their effects on the environmental and human health

Abstract

One of the fundamental conditions of being healthy is a healthy environment. Medical wastes, from the moment they are produced to the moment they are finally removed in the waste cycle, are directly or indirectly interacted with the environment and humans. The medical wastes, which are not collected and removed in accordance with the rules, may harm the environment integrity, and become a problem affecting the environment and human health negatively. This study is a qualitative one that aims to determine the awareness of the nursing students about the damages caused by the medical wastes to the environment and humans. To do so, the nursing students were asked open-ended questions about the damages caused by the medical wastes to the environment and humans, and the given answers were evaluated to determine their views about the subject matter. In the result of the evaluation made, the nursing students considered the medical wastes to be a threat to the environment and humans, and yet, few of them stated that the medical wastes did not pose an important threat to the environment and humans. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.