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. 2017:2017:8516741.
doi: 10.1155/2017/8516741. Epub 2017 Oct 10.

Patients' Knowledge and Attitude toward the Disposal of Medications

Aeshah AlAzmi  1 , Hani AlHamdan  1 , Rayf Abualezz  2 , Faiz Bahadig  1 , Noha Abonofal  1 , Mohamed Osman  1
Affiliations

Patients' Knowledge and Attitude toward the Disposal of Medications

Aeshah AlAzmi et al. J Pharm (Cairo). 2017.

Abstract

Background: Safe disposal of medications is of high concern as malpractice may lead to harmful consequences such as undesirable effects, prescription drug abuse, overstocking, self-medication, accidental overdose, and even death. There is a lack of uniform and nationwide guidance on how patients should safely dispose their leftover medications. This study aims to assess patients' knowledge and attitude regarding the disposal of medications.

Method: This research is a cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from various outpatient pharmaceutical services in King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Jeddah.

Results: The study revealed that 73% of the respondents throw the medications in the trash, 14% return the medications to a pharmacy, 5% never dispose them, and 3% donate the medications to a friend or charity centers. More than 80% of the respondents never received any information or advice from healthcare providers about safe and proper disposal of medications.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that there is an immediate requirement for the establishment of collaborative and uniform guidelines for the safe disposal of leftover medications. A policy for drug donation needs to be included in routine patient education as well as educational and collective programs for the public.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Medication categories (%) of drugs from the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Medication categories (%) of drugs from the Oncology Department (ONC).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Medication categories (%) of drugs from the Cardiac Center (CC).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Medication categories (%) of drugs from the Emergency Department (ED).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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