Over the past decades, medical waste management (MWM) has evolved into a paramount global challenge, intertwining environmental sustainability and public health dimensions. This manuscript traces the paradigm shift from the foundational Basel Convention of 1989 to the significant sway of World Health Organization publications on contemporary debates. Utilizing a mixed approach strategy that blended qualitative and quantitative techniques, the research employed extensive literature review, co-citation and co-word analysis methodologies to ascertain the direction of contemporary trends in MWM. Within the scope of the research findings, current strategies reveal noticeable gaps, especially those that lack sound policy structures, comprehensive insights and effective operational frameworks. Co-citation evaluations spotlight predominant themes in academic references. Foremost among them are the socioeconomic factor, environmental significance, medical waste (MW) stabilization and sustainable society, sequenced by cluster magnitude. Co-word analysis unveils that, despite the long-standing presence of incineration plants, pyrolysis has, since 2016, prioritized environmental considerations. The recycling ethos peaked in 2014, but the sustainability paradigm burgeoned in 2020, with the ‘circular economy’ gaining momentum in 2021. Emerging trend analysis underscores the mounting significance of circular waste technologies and sustainability as indispensable solutions. Results demonstrate MW advancements and highlight emerging trends shaping the future of the field. The research concludes by accentuating the necessity of global collaborative efforts, integrating cutting-edge technologies and infusing sustainability and circularity tenets into societal frameworks to navigate MWM’s intricate landscape. Future research trajectories, including wastewater governance, novel mobile waste disposal strategies and a cyclic waste classification paradigm, are proposed.

中文翻译：

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医疗废物管理研究的演化路径：同被引和共词分析的见解

在过去的几十年里，医疗废物管理（MWM）已发展成为一项至关重要的全球挑战，将环境可持续性和公共卫生层面紧密结合在一起。本手稿追溯了从 1989 年巴塞尔公约的基础到世界卫生组织出版物对当代辩论的重大影响的范式转变。该研究采用混合定性和定量技术的混合方法策略，采用广泛的文献综述、同引和共词分析方法来确定 MWM 的当代趋势方向。在研究结果范围内，当前的战略暴露出明显的差距，特别是那些缺乏健全的政策结构、全面的见解和有效的操作框架的战略。同被引评估突出了学术参考文献中的主要主题。其中最重要的是社会经济因素、环境重要性、医疗废物（MW）稳定性和可持续社会，按集群规模排序。共词分析表明，尽管焚烧厂长期存在，但自 2016 年以来，热解已优先考虑环境因素。回收风潮在 2014 年达到顶峰，但可持续发展范式在 2020 年蓬勃发展，“循环经济”在 2021 年获得动力。新兴趋势分析强调了循环废物技术和可持续发展作为不可或缺的解决方案的重要性。结果展示了微波技术的进步，并突显了塑造该领域未来的新兴趋势。该研究最后强调了全球合作努力、整合尖端技术以及将可持续性和循环原则融入社会框架的必要性，以驾驭 MWM 错综复杂的景观。提出了未来的研究轨迹，包括废水治理、新型移动废物处理策略和循环废物分类范式。