**Lydia Hangulu**

Discipline of Psychology, Health Promotion Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa; lydiahangulu@yahoo.com

Received: 10 July 2018; Accepted: 5 November 2018; Published: 12 November 2018

**Abstract:** There is lack of uniform nomenclature for healthcare waste (HCW) globally, which could undermine efforts to develop and implement appropriate policies relating to healthcare waste managemen<sup>t</sup> (HCWM) in developing countries. This study sought to understand the terminologies used to describe HCW, including their definitions, categories, classification, and how they align with those that are provided by the World Health Organization (WHO)'s global manual for HCWM from healthcare facilities. The study first identified terms from the existing literature; then, it conceptually mapped the literature, and identified gaps and areas of further inquiry. Six electronic databases—EBSCOhost, Open Access, ProQuest, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were used to search for literature. A total of 112 studies were included in the study. Despite having various nomenclature for HCW globally that align with those provided by the WHO manual, the use of varying nomenclature could create confusion among healthcare workers in the quest of managing HCW properly, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Further studies must be conducted to determine how these terminologies are interpreted and implemented in practice by healthcare workers. This will help to understand how their implementation aligns with the recommendations provided by the WHO manual.

**Keywords:** healthcare waste; healthcare workers; health sector; scoping review; WHO
