{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T03:55:24Z","timestamp":1790567724180,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"F1000 Research Ltd","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771545600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100012921","name":"Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100012921","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["hrbopenresearch.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["HRB Open Res"],"abstract":"<ns3:p>Introduction Given its substantially higher-than-average per capita plastic waste and the severe global environmental impacts associated with it, Ireland urgently needs alternatives and effective solutions within its heavily plastic-reliant health sector. Objective Within this protocol, a scoping review to identify key barriers to the widespread integration of biodegradable plastics into healthcare is outlined. Methods This will be achieved by mapping and synthesising existing literature and the current research landscape regarding the application of these biodegradable plastic materials. The principal objective of this review is to systematically identify barriers, such as the availability of waste disposal facilities, infection control considerations, sterilisation methods, cost, staff and management perspectives, knowledge levels and expertise, as well as other policy frameworks and regulations. This review will be guided by the Arksey and O\u2019Malley methodological frameworks and also report recommendations of Peters et al. This review\u2019s findings are expected to form a foundational knowledge base for health systems, researchers and policymakers. Conclusion The obtained evidence will inform the development of robust implementation and research strategies, which will be essential for incorporating biodegradable plastics into healthcare successfully. In turn, this will advance global targets for sustainability, including those relevant to a national context such as Ireland.<\/ns3:p>","DOI":"10.12688\/hrbopenres.14329.1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T08:34:08Z","timestamp":1771576448000},"page":"18","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/hrbopenres.crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Understanding the Barriers to the Integration of Biodegradable Plastics into Healthcare Systems: A Scoping Review Protocol"],"prefix":"10.12688","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7960-1939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Solola","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing and Midwifery Dublin Leinster D02 YN77 Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 26 York Street Campus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4886-9691","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Doyle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"RCSI SIM Lab Dublin Leinster D02 YN77 Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 26 York Street Campus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keith","family":"Rochfort","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biotechnology Glasnevin County Dublin Dublin City University - Glasnevin Campus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5312-5101","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aisling","family":"Walsh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Population Health Dublin Leinster D02 YN77 Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 26 York Street Campus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Killian","family":"Walsh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Education, Research and Clinical Support Dublin Leinster D02 YN77 Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 26 York Street Campus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mary Rose","family":"Sweeney","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing and Midwifery Dublin Leinster D02 YN77 Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 26 York Street Campus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2560","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","article-title":"Research Matters|Plastic pollution \u2013 Houses of the Oireachtas.","year":"2025 cited 2025 June 13"},{"key":"ref2","article-title":"World Environment Day 2023: Solutions for healthcare plastic pollution.","year":"2023 cited 2025 Jun 30"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"106425","DOI":"10.1016\/j.resconrec.2022.106425","article-title":"Material flow analysis of single-use plastics in healthcare: A case study of a surgical hospital in Germany.","volume":"185","author":"T Ivanovi\u0107","year":"2022 Oct 1","journal-title":"Resour. Conserv. Recycl."},{"key":"ref4","article-title":"Plastics Europe.","year":"cited 2025 Jun 30"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3494-3511","DOI":"10.1021\/acssuschemeng.9b06635","article-title":"Degradation Rates of Plastics in the Environment.","volume":"8","author":"A Chamas","year":"2020 Mar 9","journal-title":"ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng."},{"key":"ref6","article-title":"Healthcare risk waste.","year":"cited 2025 Jun 30"},{"key":"ref7","article-title":"Hazardous.","year":"cited 2025 Jun 30"},{"key":"ref8","article-title":"HSE, Green Healthcare Programme.","year":"cited 2025 Jun 30"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"19-32","DOI":"10.1080\/1364557032000119616","article-title":"Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework.","volume":"8","author":"H Arksey","year":"2005 Feb 1","journal-title":"Int. J. Soc. Res. Methodol."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2119-2126","DOI":"10.11124\/JBIES-20-00167","article-title":"Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews.","volume":"18","author":"M Peters","year":"2020 Oct","journal-title":"JBI Evidence Synthesis."},{"key":"ref12","article-title":"Sustainable development goals. SDGs transform our world.","volume":"2030","author":"G Assembly","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref13","first-page":"1-175","article-title":"Regulation (EU) 2017\/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2017 on medical devices, amending Directive 2001\/83\/EC, Regulation (EC) No 178\/2002 and Regulation (EC) No 1223\/2009 and repealing Council Directives 90\/385\/EEC and 93\/42\/EEC.","volume":"L117","year":"2017","journal-title":"Off. J. Eur. Union."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147524","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2025.147524","article-title":"Sustainable sanitary pads: A comprehensive review of natural fibers and bio-based superabsorbent polymers for eco-friendly menstrual hygiene.","volume":"327","author":"S Sadaf","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Biol. Macromol."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"379-395","DOI":"10.1007\/s10311-021-01334-4","article-title":"Innovations in applications and prospects of non-isocyanate polyurethane bioplastics.","volume":"20","author":"M Mangal","year":"2021","journal-title":"Biopolymers & Bioplastics Review."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.17605\/OSF.IO\/HSVP5","article-title":"Understanding the Barriers to the Integration of Biodegradable Plastics into Healthcare Systems: A Scoping Review Protocol.","author":"D Solola","year":"2026","journal-title":"Open Science Framework."}],"container-title":["HRB Open Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1\/pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1\/iparadigms","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T03:09:09Z","timestamp":1790564949000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]]},"references-count":15,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/hrbopenres.14329.1","relation":{"has-review":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r57889","asserted-by":"subject"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r57888","asserted-by":"subject"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r53726","asserted-by":"subject"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r53726","asserted-by":"object"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r57888","asserted-by":"object"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r57889","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2515-4826"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2515-4826","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]]},"assertion":[{"value":"Indexed","URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1#article-reports","order":0,"name":"referee-status","label":"Referee status","group":{"name":"current-referee-status","label":"Current Referee Status"}},{"value":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r53726, Cassandra Thiel, New York University Langone Health, New York, 31 Mar 2026, version 1, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1#referee-response-53726","order":0,"name":"referee-response-53726","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"<b>David Solola<\/b>; \n<i>Posted: 29 Aug 2026<\/i>; Dear Dr Thiel,&nbsp; &nbsp; Thank you for reviewing this protocol and for your constructive feedback. Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to your review, as a relatively new PhD scholar I was unfamiliar with the &nbsp;HRB Open Research process. &nbsp; In this scoping review, we aligned our approach with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines.&nbsp;We used the Plastics Europe definition of biodegradable plastics; plastics that are derived from biomass but cannot be biodegraded according to this definition (PET and bio-PE) were not included. &nbsp; I wanted to capture more contemporary innovations that are being explored in this sector. To do this, I knew we had to choose a year that was relatively recent as this is a rapidly evolving space, so we aligned the cutoff with the releasing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I theorised that this release of the UN SDGs would have caused a surge in research related to sustainability, specifically in healthcare.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; As you predicted, cataloguing the barriers has been quite challenging, however, six categories have been identified and include Sterilisation Incompatibility,&nbsp; Inadequate Mechanical Properties and Environmental Concerns. Some of the studies reviewed thus far have discussed the potential environmental effects of biodegradable plastics, specifically when used within the current systems available. I hope the review will also speak to the often-inadequate mechanical properties of these plastics, especially for healthcare consumables.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Thank you once again I really appreciate your supportive and thoughtful comments.  Kind regards, David","URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1#referee-comment-3962","order":1,"name":"referee-comment-3962","label":"Referee Comment","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r57888, Mercy Okezue, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 15 Sep 2026, version 1, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1#referee-response-57888","order":2,"name":"referee-response-57888","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.21956\/hrbopenres.15778.r57889, Una Fitzgerald, University of Galway, Galway, 28 Sep 2026, version 1, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/hrbopenresearch.org\/articles\/9-18\/v1#referee-response-57889","order":3,"name":"referee-response-57889","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"This scoping review is part of a PhD project which is fully funded by the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. However, there was no grant awarded specifically for this review. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.","order":4,"name":"grant-information","label":"Grant Information"},{"value":"This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.","order":0,"name":"copyright-info","label":"Copyright"}]}}