Factors Influencing Public Willingness to Reuse the Unused Stored Medications in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The reissuing, redispensing, redistributing, or even recycling of the returned unused stored medicines is referred to as medicine reuse. A few studies have examined people’s willingness to reuse unused stored medicines. This study aims primarily to explore the public’s willingness to reuse unused stored medicines in the future and the factors affecting their decisions, and to assess the pharmacological types and formulations of the unused stored medicines by the public. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenient sampling technique over three weeks (February–March 2022) among Jordanian populations. Data were collected from 681 participants who agreed to fill out a questionnaire, which was distributed online. Participants showed a positive perception of reusing any of the unused stored medicines in the future; of those, 79.6% (n = 400) believed that reusing “unused medicines” has economic benefits and 50% (n = 251) believe there are environmental benefits. Moreover, more than half of the participants believed that reusing “unused medicines” is safe (n = 256, 51%), but provided that a pharmacist or a doctor evaluates their quality or that the unused medicines are stored well. Results from this study show that the public positively endorses the idea of reusing unused stored medicines if the quality and safety are assured. However, future studies are needed to evaluate the Jordanian healthcare professionals’ perceptions towards medicine reuse and pharmaceutical companies’ willingness to be a part or facilitator of medicine reuse.

Pharmacovigilance Concept Knowledge, Perspectives and Attitudes: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Community Pharmacists

“… 3 If any drug is not tested against proper storage conditions, safety, and evidence-based indication before handing it out to the targeted audience, it can cause severe complications, which can eventually result in the death of an individual. 4 , 5 …”

Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions, Barriers, and Facilitators towards Adopting Computerised Clinical Decision Support Systems in Antimicrobial Stewardship in Jordanian Hospitals

“…Increasing antibiotic resistance at an alarming rate is further fueled by the widespread misuse of antibiotics [ 7 , 8 ]. In Jordan, people store their unused medication, including antibiotics, for future use [ 9 ]. This would enhance the risk of self-medication with antibiotics [ 3 , 9 , 10 ].…”

“…In Jordan, people store their unused medication, including antibiotics, for future use [ 9 ]. This would enhance the risk of self-medication with antibiotics [ 3 , 9 , 10 ]. Jordan has a high prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics, recently reported at 40% [ 3 , 10 ].…”