Does the Theory of Planned Behavior Predict Healthcare Waste Management Practices?

Understanding the factors influencing healthcare waste practices behaviour can lead to better and more effective management practices programs in any country in the world. The main aim of this study was to examine factors associated with healthcare waste practices behaviours in light of the theory of planned behaviour within the Libyan hospital context. Previous studies have shown that a number of organisational characteristics such as structure, culture, size and operational location of an organisation will influence healthcare waste management practices. Underpinned by planned behavioural theory, using a reliable instrument, a pilot study survey was conducted to identify the statistical relationships between organisational structure and healthcare waste management practice of Libyan public hospitals. The correlation test analysis illustrated that centralisation and formalisation were found to have significantly strong relationships with healthcare waste collection and disposal. On the other hand, these two dimensions (centralisation and formalisation) were found to have no relationship with medical waste separation.