A Qualitative study of the knowledge, attitude and practice of patients regarding the use of expired and disposal of unused medicine at Nimra Institute of medical sciences, Vijayawada.

Abstract

The study was conducted to explore the knowledge, attitude and practice toward disposal of unused medication among patients in Nimra Institute of Medical Sciences. The disposal of unwanted medications has been a concern globally, as pharmaceutical waste enters the ecosystem, ultimately effecting human health and environment Drug wastage is considered as a better tool to measure the efficiency and success of health care system. Though the presence of drugs in the environment is mainly attributed to presence of drugs in human excreta, a significant role is played by improper methods of drug disposal Materials & Methods: This qualitative study was an in-depth interview conducted during the period from November 2016 to January 2017. A total of 150 patients participated in this study. Once the participants identified , an appointment was fixed to conduct the interview with them. Due to the small sample size the data were analyzed manually. Results: A total of 150 patients attending General Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, and Gynecology OPDs were enrolled. Out of the 150 consumers 55% were men and 45% were women. Sources of medicines for patients included pharmacy stores (85, 56%) with or without (35, 24%) doctor’s prescription, and unused medicine at home (20, 12.5%) or friends and relatives (10, 7.5%). Conclusion: Majority of patients are aware about the need for safe disposal of unused medicines. But the right knowledge, attitude and practice of safe disposal of medicines is lacking. The existing guidelines should be implemented to ensure patients' safety and to preserve the ecosystem.

Keywords

• disposal medicines
• expiry medicines
• knowledge
• attitude
• practice
• patients