Abstract
BackgroundRecent analysis of drinking water in South Africa found the presence of ARVs, other pharmaceutical and personal care products. The environmental and human health risk that this presents is daunting. The increased use of ARVs with poor disposal practices could be the reason for these substances being present in drinking water. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the knowledge and practices of HIV infected patients, regarding medicine disposal.MethodA descriptive, cross sectional, quantitative study that utilised a structured, self-administered, questionnaire was undertaken at 3 different public ARV clinics in the eThekwini Metro of KwaZulu Natal, SA. The variables included questions on demographics, knowledge and practices of medicine disposal of ARV and other medications. Data was captured using excel spreadsheets and analysed using SPSS version 25. Chi square tests were used to compare factors between correct and incorrect knowledge and practice groups.ResultsFour hundred and eighty four participants agreed to participate in this study, of which the majority (71.1%) were females. Over 87% of the participants knew that improper disposal of medicines were harmful to the environment with only 28.3% knowing that there were laws governing the way medicines should be disposed. Majority of participants that had unused and expired ARVs at home disposed of these medicines. The most common route of medicine disposal for ARVs was by throwing these medicines into the bin (56.4%). Only 24.2% of participants were informed by healthcare professionals about the proper method of medicine disposal. Participants who had secondary and tertiary level of education (p = 0.043) and the ability to speak English (p = 0.001) had appropriate knowledge on medicine disposal.ConclusionThis study identified that poor medicine disposal practices and lack of adequate information about the proper methods of medicine disposal were evident among the participant population. There is a need for patient education and healthcare professional intervention to ensure patients are aware of standard proper medicine disposal practices.
Highlights
Recent analysis of drinking water in South Africa found the presence of ARVs, other pharmaceutical and personal care products
This study identified that poor medicine disposal practices and lack of adequate information about the proper methods of medicine disposal were evident among the participant population
There is a need for patient education and healthcare professional intervention to ensure patients are aware of standard proper medicine disposal practices
Summary
Recent analysis of drinking water in South Africa found the presence of ARVs, other pharmaceutical and personal care products. Recent analysis of drinking water in South Africa has found that pharmaceuticals and personal care products, such as antibiotics, antidepressants, artificial sweeteners, illegal and antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are becoming increasingly common contaminants in drinking water [2]. These contaminants could lead to detrimental health effects such as contributing to drug resistance, genetic effects, renal failure and impairment of sexual development [3], as well as impacting the growth, fertility and behaviour of other organisms in our ecosystem [4]. If there is no knowledge on proper disposal methods, these medicines are found harming the environment
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