Sudanese patients′ perception on safe use and disposal of injections

Abstract

Objective: Thousands of millions of injections are unsafely administered and disposed every year in developing countries, which may pose hazardous consequences to the environment as well as public. The prime objective of this study was to determine the perception and attitudes of the Sudanese patients about safe use and disposal of injections. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out. One thousand patients were randomly selected from different health settings in Sudan. Data collection was carried out during the period from September 2009 to March 2010. Results: The majority of the respondents (95.1%) admitted that they had received medicines in injection form through their lives. Nurses were the dominant injection administrators (42.5%), while the doctors formed 19.8%. Majority of the interviewed patients had their injections at homes (38.7%). In the present study, 72.9% of the patients used to take drugs in injection by using sterile disposable syringes. Unfortunately, around 90% of the used injections found their way to inappropriate disposal places. These unaccepted injection disposal practices led to a considerable rate of used injection sticks (26.1%). Conclusions: A set of recommendations was proposed in an attempt to educate patients on the safe use and disposal of injections.