Author(s)

Luis Fernando Costa Pereira¹, Perla Calil Pongeluppe Wadhy Rebehy², Márcio Flávio Moura de Araújo³, Flávia Cândido Ribeiro dos Santos¹, Lucia Aparecida Parra¹, Ana Carolina Corsino Franco¹, João Batista Moreira⁴, Pedro Miguel dos Santos Diniz Parreira⁴, Carla Regina de Souza Teixeira¹

¹Department of Graduate Studies in Fundamental Nursing, Ribeirão Preto School of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
²Facult of Economics, Administration and Accounting of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
³Foundation Oswaldo Cruz, Ceará, Brazil.
⁴Coimbra Higher Nursing School, Coimbra, Portugal.

The advancement of technologies and supplies related to Diabetes Mellitus management has led to a growing production of waste with negative environmental consequences, prompting a call for sustainability in public policies. However, one of the challenges is the management of waste generated by these devices, favoring environmental preservation and the increased use of materials that can be recycled. This paper provides a reflective analysis of current public policy guidelines in Brazil regarding the disposal of healthcare waste. It concludes that a new perspective is needed concerning Brazilian health public policies, coupled with strategies enabling the reprocessing of healthcare waste through a circular economy model. Such an approach would foster innovations in healthcare, aiming for environmental preservation through ecologically sustainable actions to reduce the volume of waste, especially plastics, associated with Diabetes Mellitus treatment in the home context.

Diabetes Mellitus, Health Policy, Waste Management, Health Strategies, Syringes

Pereira, L. , Rebehy, P. , de Araújo, M. , dos Santos, F. , Parra, L. , Franco, A. , Moreira, J. , Parreira, P. and Teixeira, C. (2024) The Challenge in Managing Healthcare Waste in the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus in Brazil. Journal of Human Resource and Sustainability Studies, 12, 101-109. doi: 10.4236/jhrss.2024.121007.