Medical waste management in Iran and comparison with neighbouring countries

Population growth and increasing access to medical services have led to an increase in the generation of medical wastes, out of which most components are reported to be infectious. Medical wastes include wastes generated in hospitals, dental clinics, clinics, clinical laboratories, and other health-related care centres. The aim of this study was to identify the status of medical waste management in Iran as a developing country and its comparison with neighbouring countries. For this purpose, a systematic method for selection of related articles was performed by defining the search protocol and identifying most relevant keywords in five databases that included one Persian database. We found and screened articles from Scopus, Web of Knowledge, PubMed, ProQuest and Scientific Information Database (SID) (Persian). In addition, Scopus dataset was employed to search studies focused on the status of the medical waste management in neighbouring countries with Iran. Finally, 49 articles covering medical waste management information in Iran and 8 articles in neighbouring countries were selected to investigate the quantity and status of medical waste management in Iran and its comparison with neighbouring countries.

Automated summary

Population growth and increased access to medical services have resulted in a rise in infectious medical waste generation. This study aims to assess the status of medical waste management in Iran and compare it with neighboring countries. Through systematic search and selection of articles from various databases, a total of 49 articles on medical waste management in Iran and 8 articles on neighboring countries were included for analysis.