Abstract
Background The improvement of healthcare systems has brought the subsequent increase in people access to medications. The consumers are not able to use all the dispensed medications because of various reasons. The improper disposal of these unused medicines has led to environmental contamination to an alarming extent. Therefore, the study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of unused medications disposal among patients visiting public health centers in Gondar town, Ethiopia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 404 patients visiting public health centers in Gondar town, Ethiopia, from August to September 2021, by using standardized and a locally translated semistructured questionnaire. The data were entered and analyzed by using the SPSS version of 21.0. The variable of interest was described in the form of statements and tables. Result Out of 404 respondents included in the study, 221 (54.7%) of them were female. More than half (226 (55.9%)) of the respondents had unused medicine at home. The common methods of disposal practice were throwing into a household garbage (150 (31.4%)), followed by flushed into toilet/sinks (88 (21.8%)). More than half (286 (70.8%)) of the respondents knew about medication waste and 239 (59.2%) of them checked their medication expiry date. More than half (215 (53.5%)) of the participants strongly agreed that unused medicine can cause potential risk at home and 279 (69.1%) of study participants strongly agreed that children are more vulnerable to the potential risk of unused medicine at home. Conclusion There was a high practice of keeping medication at home, and most disposal approach indicated by the participants was not recommended methods. Awareness about the proper disposal of unused medicines among the public should be created. Guidelines on safe disposal are required, and an organized method of collecting unused and expired pharmaceuticals needs to be introduced.
Highlights
Medicines are important in saving lives but can cause detrimental effects if inappropriately consumed and managed [1, 2]. e improvement of healthcare systems has brought a subsequent increase in people’s access to medications. is increased access has raised the question of how well individual households are well equipped in handling the subsequent rise in medical waste [3]
More than half (215 (53.5%)) of the participants strongly agreed that unused or expired medicine has a potential risk at home, and 170 (42.1%) of participants agreed that there is a lack of adequate information on the safe disposal of unused or expired medication. e majority of the respondents (279 (69.1)) strongly agreed that children
The current finding is higher in a study conducted in the northern region of Ethiopia, in which 41.4% of respondents had unused medications at home [5], and a lower finding was reported in Gondar compressive specialized hospital which was 39.3% [14]. e
Summary
Medicines are important in saving lives but can cause detrimental effects if inappropriately consumed and managed [1, 2]. e improvement of healthcare systems has brought a subsequent increase in people’s access to medications. is increased access has raised the question of how well individual households are well equipped in handling the subsequent rise in medical waste [3]. Is increased access has raised the question of how well individual households are well equipped in handling the subsequent rise in medical waste [3]. Patients store their medication at home due to side effects, change of dosage, getting better, and the expiration date [4]. Ere are no studies that report the disposal practices used for unwanted and expired medication in health centers of Gondar town. Is triggers the need to conduct the study to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of unused medications disposal among patients visiting public health centers in Gondar town, Ethiopia A few studies have been done to assess the knowledge, attitude, and disposal practice of unused and expired pharmaceuticals in Ethiopia, there is still a dearth of information regarding the disposal practices for unused medications in both the community and wastage at hospital care settings [11]. ere are no studies that report the disposal practices used for unwanted and expired medication in health centers of Gondar town. is triggers the need to conduct the study to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of unused medications disposal among patients visiting public health centers in Gondar town, Ethiopia
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