Improper disposal practice of unused and expired pharmaceutical products in Indonesian households (original) (raw)
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Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2021
Introduction: Disposal of unused medications through environmentally unsafe routes is common in Indonesia. The lack of awareness of the impact of improperly disposed of medications is a significant contributing factor. The objectives of this study were to identify factors associated with lack of awareness of the impact of improperly disposed of unused medications and to assess the associations of awareness with medication disposal practices among the general population in Indonesia.Patients and methods: An observational cross-sectional survey was conducted using nonprobability sampling in Bandung, Indonesia, from November 2017 to January 2018 among respondents who were older than 18 years, had used any medication in the past, were literate, and had signed an informed consent document. Disposal practices and awareness regarding the impact of improperly disposed of unused medications were collected using an online- and a paper-based pre-validated questionnaire. The paper-based questio...
The persisting environmental problem of disposal of expired and unused medicines
Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, 2019
Objectives: Safe disposal of expired, unwanted, or unused medications by the consumers is a major challenge worldwide. The knowledge, attitude and practice of consumers on disposal of unused and expired medicines were assessed. Methods: Data on demographics, educational, occupation, socioeconomic status, drugs purchased, number of unused or expired drugs were obtained from medicine consumers. Knowledge, attitude and practice of safe disposal methods, number, most common class, dosage forms of leftover drugs and the reasons were assessed using a questionnaire. Effect of educational, occupational, socioeconomic status on purchase of drugs, awareness on the consequences of improper disposal of drugs were assessed using chi square test. Results: Of 145 participants, 46 % were females and 54% were males with a mean age of 36.76 + 13.60 years. 66 participants stated 1-5 drugs as leftover at home and the reason for possession of unused medicines as self-discontinuation after the condition was resolved. Most common drugs left unused at home were analgesics and the dosage form was tablets. 76.6% were unaware of the consequences of improper drug disposal. 65.5% stated the acceptable method to dispose medicines as collection of unused drug by Municipality. Majority (88%) disposed unused or expired medicines in the garbage. There was a statistically significant association between educational, occupational and socio economic status, purchase of drugs and awareness on consequences of improper drug disposal (P<0.05). Conclusion: Most of the participants had leftover of unused or expired drugs in their households and there was lack of awareness on safe disposal of medicines.
Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science
The high rate of medicine storage must be balanced with knowledge and attitudes for proper management of medications, specifically the storage and disposal of medications in order to prevent problems in the scope of healthcare and the environment. This study aimed to find out the relationship between the level of knowledge and attitudes among people of the Greater Malang area in managing leftover, damaged, and expired medications. This research is an analytic observational research. The sample of this research is people in the Greater Malang area who were selected with convenience sampling according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The utilized instrument in this research was a questionnaire on the knowledge and attitudes in managing leftover, damaged, and expired medications. Data were processed with the Spearman correlation statistical testing. The research results indicated that, for the level of knowledge among people of the Greater Malang area in managing leftover, damaged, and expired medications, 58% were in the fair category. For attitudes, 52% were negative. There was no relationship between the level of knowledge and attitudes of the people in managing leftover, damaged, and expired medications (p = 0.076). Pharmacists need to continuously educate the public about the storage and disposal of leftover, damaged, and expired medications.
Journal of Applied …, 2012
This survey has lead to an enhanced international awareness of the potential detrimental effects on the environment. The main objective of this survey is to develop of public awareness about harmful effect of medications waste.This was a descriptive crosssectional survey involving with patients based on a structured questionnaire format with answer sets and asked why people do not use all of their medications; why they are keep unused medications, storage and how to dispose their medications. This study carried out at International Islamic University Malaysia (Health center Gombak campus, Selangor) and the medical college of the International Islamic University Malaysia (kuantan campus, Pahang). Although,87% of the respondents; they known about medications waste but only near about 2% of the respondents who are follow drug-take-back system because of above 93% of the respondents, they did not know about drug-take-back system. Most of the participants reported disposing of these in a manner that leads to their ending up in a landfill more than 65%. Finally, 83% of the respondents added to a disposal system ultimately ending up in a landfill. In this survey suggests that there is an urgent need to develop of public awareness and there is also need to develop dispensing policies & delivered to collection bag which deduction the volume of medication waste.
2014
Background: The usage of medication is increasing in Malaysia. The amount of medication being thrown away as trash is huge every year. The metabolites of each medication also being flushed down the sewage system every day. The purpose of this study is to know the disposal method of unwanted medication and the knowledge of its impacts to the environment. The study participants were the customers of the community pharmacy. Methodology: This is a cross sectional study involving community pharmacy customers in Shah Alam Municipality, Selangor. Data was collected from April to Mei 2014' Result: A pilot study demonstrated that the questionnaire was valid and reliable to assess the customers practice and knowledge toward medication disposal. The most utilized disposal method was to dispose as thrash either in the bottle or strip or pour out the medication from their respective containers into the trash. The customers did not agree with the statement that medication residue can harm the environment. Conclusion: These findings showed that community pharmacy customer's medication disposal preferred method is to dispose them as trash and they did not know about the impacts of medication residue to the environment. Therefore, it is recommended that better regulations are required to ensure that the disposal of unwanted medication will no longer cause harmful impacts to the environment. The community pharmacist also need to play proactive roles in educating their customers about the harmful impacts of improper medication disposal to the environment.
Archives of Pharmacy Practice, 2011
The appropriate disposal practice of unused and expired medications has become a global challenge that has caught the attention of health policymakers, pharmaceutical organizations, healthcare professionals, and the wider community. The current study aimed to evaluate the awareness, attitudes, and behaviors relating to the disposal practice of unused and expired medications and medication wastage issues among the general public in Selangor, Malaysia. The quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-validated structured survey form. Among the approached individuals, 426 showed their willingness to participate in the study. More than 80% of the study population reported being aware of the medication wastage issue and its impact on patients and the economy. The respondents with a higher level of education (OR = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.18-2.52; p < 0.003) were more likely to be cognizant of the detrimental consequences of inappropriate waste disposal. The female respondents were more likely to report comprehending that the availability of free healthcare resources is contributing to medication waste (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.015-2.34; p < 0.005). The majority of respondents reported throwing away unused medications (202; 47.4%) and expired medications (362; 84.9%) in the garbage. The respondents believed that the provision of appropriate directions by healthcare professionals (312; 73.2%) and prescribing/dispensing medications in quantities for the duration that ensures patient adherence (114; 26.7%) could minimize medication wastage. The Ministry of Health (258; 60.5%), pharmaceutical organizations (212; 49.7%), and pharmacists (193; 45.3%) were the respondents' perceived responsible sources of information. The current findings reported that respondents were familiar that inappropriate practices of medication wastage might have harmful consequences. However, a gap exists between their awareness and practice, and the disposal approaches practiced by the respondents were generally not appropriate.
This survey has lead to an enhanced international awareness of the potential detrimental effects on the environment. The main objective of this survey is to develop of public awareness about harmful effect of medications waste.This was a descriptive crosssectional survey involving with patients based on a structured questionnaire format with answer sets and asked why people do not use all of their medications; why they are keep unused medications, storage and how to dispose their medications. This study carried out at International Islamic University Malaysia (Health center Gombak campus, Selangor) and the medical college of the International Islamic University Malaysia (kuantan campus, Pahang). Although,87% of the respondents; they known about medications waste but only near about 2% of the respondents who are follow drug-take-back system because of above 93% of the respondents, they did not know about drug-take-back system. Most of the participants reported disposing of these in a manner that leads to their ending up in a landfill more than 65%. Finally, 83% of the respondents added to a disposal system ultimately ending up in a landfill. In this survey suggests that there is an urgent need to develop of public awareness and there is also need to develop dispensing policies & delivered to collection bag which deduction the volume of medication waste.
Disposal practice and factors associated with unused medicines in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study
BMC Public Health, 2021
The improper disposal of unused medicines is a worldwide concern because of its impact on the environment, economy, and health. This study aims to describe the disposal practice of unused medicine and identify factors associated with unused medicines in Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional, face to face interview-based survey using a structured questionnaire. We used a convenience sampling method to recruit participants from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in Malaysia. We interviewed 1184 participants, and the response rate was 96%. Out of the total respondents, 995 (84%) reported having unused medicines. About a quarter of respondents kept unused medicines in the cabinet, and another quarter disposed of them into the trash or toilet. Only half of the respondent who used medicines for chronic illnesses had unused medicines compared to about 90% of respondents who used medicines for acute illnesses. The main reason for having unused medicines among those who used medicines for chronic illn...
Pharmacist's opinion and practice towards disposal of unused medications in South India
A large portion of the pharmaceuticals in our water comes from the improper disposal of unused or unwanted drugs by households and medical facilities. The ability to detect these tiny amounts has increased public awareness and raised new questions about the potential longer-term impact of pharmaceuticals on environment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the opinion and practice of the pharmacists towards disposal of unwanted/ left out medicines. A random qualitative interview study was conducted and the data was collected by face to face semi structured interview among registered pharmacists in south India. Institutional Ethical clearance was obtained before proceeding for the study. A total of 127 registered pharmacists were participated in the study. Disposing unwanted medicines in trash and flushing down the sink by 50.5% was the main method by the respondents, 63.9% agreed that they were not aware of environmental hazards due to improper drug disposal; however 45% of the participants were accepted to have their pharmacy as a collecting point of unwanted medicines. Need of some policies to implement strictly and concerned authorities should monitor and implement proper disposal guidelines.
Environmental contamination of medications is a serious threat that has attained attention in recent years. The most environmental unfriendly means of disposition of leftover medication are reported to be disposition of drugs into the sink, toilet, or into the dust bin. With this background, the present study was conducted to assess the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) of medical professionals towards the safe disposal of medication. Twenty-eight percent of the participants were aware of the fact that medications excreted by human appear in sewage system and are detectable in the ecosystem. All the participants agreed that the government should make strict policies regarding the drug disposal and 77% agreed that pharmaceutical companies should take back the expired drugs. Also, 65% respondents agreed that they dispose unused medication in the garbage, and 9% disposes unused medication in the toilet or sink. There is a strong requirement for increasing awareness about safe disposition of medications.