Knowledge, attitude and disposing practice of unused and expired medicines among the general public in Malaysia

Ong, Siew Chin; Ooi, Guat See; Shafie, Asrul Akmal; Hassali, Mohamed Azmi

doi:10.1111/jphs.12333

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Similar results were obtained by Ong et al. 92020) in a study of disposal of unused antibiotics in Malaysia and found that 69.2% of people have unused/expired antibiotics and more than half of the respondents were not aware of proper disposal methods and thus they throw these antibiotics with household waste. However, the disposal practice of unused and expired antibiotics of Group 1 (48% threw them with garbage) shows some better results as compared to Group 2 (85% throw them in the garbage) but not the satisfactory ones.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Disposal of unused antibiotics as household waste: A social driver of antimicrobial resistance

Sharma

Kumar

Dubey

2021

Environmental Quality Mgmt

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Globally, antibiotics’ consumption has been worrisome and immediate attention is required. Unused and expired antibiotics are continuously disposed of as household waste in sewage wastewater, which acts as social driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted to identify the scale of consumption and methods of disposal used for unused/expired antibiotics. Two groups were selected based on the knowledge of usage and misuse of antibiotics, and the response was collected. Every respondent had taken at least one antibiotic, and many of them consumed without any cause that is, 72.3% in fever and 57.8% in cold. The antibiotic course completion percentage was very poor (23% and 40% for Groups 1 and 2, respectively) and ∼75% of respondents just throw the unused/expired antibiotics, while only 2–3% went for safe/other methods of disposal. Perhaps, this direct disposal of antibiotics in the environment may be one of the contributors to AMR. The present study suggests that public awareness regarding the use of prescribed antibiotics, completion of the course, and knowledge of the safe disposal of unused/expired antibiotics will be a good strategy to combat AMR.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Disposal of unused antibiotics as household waste: A social driver of antimicrobial resistance

Sharma

Kumar

Dubey

2021

Environmental Quality Mgmt

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“…Although 46.9% of the respondents in our study were aware that improper medication disposal could harm the environment and population health, a significant number (76.9%) disposed of their unused medications by flushing them down the toilet or sink in their households. This might be because of a misunderstanding that wastewater treatment will remove most of the medications from the environment and ecosystem ( Ong et al, 2020 ). However, it is instead the case that medications disposed of in the public sewage system can contaminate local water systems through groundwater, streams, lakes, and rivers ( Jones et al, 2004 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of Awareness of the Impact of Improperly Disposed Of Medications and Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Indonesian Households

et al. 2021

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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 questionnaires were distributed to respondents in public places such as city center, markets, and religious places. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess associations of sociodemographic and other related factors with a lack of awareness. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported.Results: Of 497 participating respondents, 433 and 64 respondents filled an online- or a paper-based questionnaire, respectively. Most respondents were female, aged between 18 and 30 years, and students/university students. Of 497 respondents, more than half (53.1%) were not aware that improper medication disposal could harm the environment and population health. Most respondents (79.5%) had never received information about proper medication disposal practices. The education level, the number of stored medications at home, and previous education about medication disposal practices were significantly associated with awareness of proper practices. In the multivariate analysis, only those with previous education about medication disposal practices were less likely to report a lack of awareness (OR: 0.043; 95% CI: 0.02–0.09). Respondents with a lack of awareness tended to dispose of their unused medications in the garbage or shared them with friends or relatives.Conclusion: There is a clear need to increase awareness of the importance of proper medication disposal practices, in particular among the student population of Bandung city, Indonesia. Healthcare providers can play an important role by educating this specific population on the proper disposal of unused medications.

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“…We used the convenience sampling (non-probability sampling) method to recruit potential participants because of the constraints of recruiting using other probability sampling methods such as stratified or random sampling of participants at public places. Several similar studies have also adopted the convenience sampling technique [ 22 , 28 – 30 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disposal practice and factors associated with unused medicines in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

2021

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Background 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. Methods 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. Results 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 illness was non-adherence (69%, p < 0.05). Only 27% of these respondents returned unused medicines under the “Medicine Return Programme (MRP)”. The other group who used medicines for acute illnesses had unused medicines because their health conditions improved. Thus, most of the unused medicines will eventually end up in household waste. A multivariate logistic regression analysis identified respondents who used medicines for acute illnesses as the strongest predictor of having unused medicines (Odds Ratio (OR) = 29.8; p < 0.001), followed by those who pay for their medicines (OR = 6.0; p < 0.001) and those who were willing to participate the Medicine Return Programme (OR = 2.5; p = 0.009). Conclusion The prevalence of unused medicines and their improper disposal were high in Malaysia. Unused medicines are associated with people who use medicines for acute illnesses, pay for their medication, and are willing to participate in an MRP. Rationale prescription and optimal dispensing practice, together with a broader MRP facilities coverage, could reduce unused medicine possession.

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Knowledge, attitude and disposing practice of unused and expired medicines among the general public in Malaysia

Cited by 22 publications

References 21 publications

Disposal of unused antibiotics as household waste: A social driver of antimicrobial resistance

Disposal of unused antibiotics as household waste: A social driver of antimicrobial resistance

Lack of Awareness of the Impact of Improperly Disposed Of Medications and Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Indonesian Households

Disposal practice and factors associated with unused medicines in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

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