Analyzing barriers to sustainable healthcare waste disposal: a hybrid decision-making framework

PurposeIn the recent post-pandemic era, the globe has been anxious for the sustainable disposal of healthcare waste to protect public health, protect the environment and enhance future preparedness. Developing countries, in particular, have struggled to dispose of healthcare waste (HCW) to eradicate the hazardous effects of medical waste generated during and after the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Hence the purpose of the research paper is to develop a hybrid decision-making framework to identify various barriers for sustainable disposal of healthcare waste use of Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (G-DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP).Design/methodology/approachA hybrid framework of Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (G-DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) has been used to rank barriers and sub-barriers in the disposal of healthcare waste.FindingsThe study’s findings suggest that lack of segregation practices, absence of green procurement policy, obsolete technologies and resistance to adopting change management are the topmost causal barriers influencing the remaining barriers. Lack of commitment among healthcare administrations, lack of standard performance measures and resistance to adopting change appear to be the topmost crucial barriers.Practical implicationsThe study’s finding enables all stakeholders to prioritize the barriers systematically for better performance and save resources during the process. The policymakers can use the results to design a clear regulatory framework.Originality/valueThe literature has highlighted the factors and their association with the disposal of healthcare waste mainly in isolation. The results are validated against the Grey-Analytical Hierarchy Process (G-AHP) to ensure the robustness of the proposed framework. This paper is one of the preliminary attempts to propose a framework of the interrelationships of the factors that have a direct role in survival for management education.