Medical sharps in Portugal: a cross-sectional survey of disposal practices among the diabetic population.
Ana Luísa Corte-RealLeonor Luz DuarteAna Luísa TeixeiraMaria Vaz CunhaCatarina Calheno RebeloAna Correia de AzevedoJoão Mário PintoAndreia FariaSofia SacramentoFilipa MachadoDaniel Martinho-DiasTiago Taveira-GomesPublished in: BMJ open (2022)
Most diabetics have unsafe disposal practices for their biohazardous materials, mostly in unsorted household waste. We identified that being unemployed independently predicts adequate disposal of medical sharps and found evidence of low patient literacy on the topic, as well as poor patient education. Therefore, educating and raising awareness among healthcare professionals is crucial to address this public health issue.