Medical waste management in three areas of rural China.

Medical waste is a serious environmental issue that is rising on the agenda of policymakers. While a large share of THCs has invested in medical waste facilities and personnel, it appears that actual compliance remains low. Using evidence of low rates of training and centralized disposal, we surmise that a lack of support from upper tiers of management is one contributing factor. Given these findings, we recommend that China's policymakers should enhance support from upper tiers and improve monitoring as well as incentives in order to improve medical waste management.