Awareness and Disposal Practices of Medicines among the Community in Hawassa City, Ethiopia

IF 3.4 Q2 TOXICOLOGY

Journal of Toxicology Pub Date : 2023-12-06 DOI:10.1155/2023/4603993

Daniel Woldamicael Bekele, E. Dadebo, Girma Tilahun, Zinabu Gebremariam

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Abstract

Despite the enormous benefits medicines provide to humanity, their improper disposal frequently leads to detrimental consequences on the environment. Lack of awareness and malpractices concerning expired, leftover, or unused (ELU) medicines have become concerns worldwide. This study assessed community awareness and practices regarding the disposal of ELU medicines in Hawassa City, Ethiopia. A community-based descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used among the urban population of Hawassa City. Multistage sampling procedures were employed to select 405 household (HH) respondents, and purposive sampling techniques were used to select key experts (KEs) and key informants (KIs). A pretested questionnaire was designed for HHs, KEs, and KIs. The results of the study showed that analgesics and antibiotics, used in 52 and 27% of the HHs, respectively, were the most commonly consumed medicines in this city. The vast majority (95.5%) of the HHs did not store expired medicines but disposed of them. Only 10% of the HHs were well informed on how to dispose of ELU medicines. Most (70%) KEs and KIs revealed that there were no awareness-creation mechanisms for the safe disposal of ELU medicines. A significantly high p < 0.05 percentage (76%) of the HH respondents who were well informed on how to dispose of ELU medicines had higher education, but most (95%) of them indicated that they would not be willing to be involved in “ELU-take-back” programs even if there had been such a mechanism. Field observations confirm significant amounts of medical waste improperly discarded in various areas, including the shores of Lake Hawassa near Hawassa City. The study has shown that awareness of the management of ELU medicines is critically lacking in the community of Hawassa City, posing environmental and human health risks. Moreover, the majority of households practice unsafe disposal of ELU medicines, leading to human health threats and environmental risk.

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埃塞俄比亚哈瓦萨市社区对药品的认识和处理方法

尽管药物给人类带来了巨大的好处，但它们的不当处理往往会对环境造成有害后果。对过期、剩余或未使用(ELU)药物缺乏认识和不当操作已成为全世界关注的问题。本研究评估了埃塞俄比亚阿瓦萨市社区对处理ELU药物的认识和做法。在哈瓦萨市的城市人口中采用了基于社区的描述性横断面调查设计。采用多阶段抽样方法抽取405名家庭调查对象，采用有目的抽样方法抽取关键专家和关键举报人。设计了一份预测问卷，用于HHs、ke和ki。研究结果表明，镇痛剂和抗生素是该市最常用的药物，分别在52%和27%的卫生保健中心使用。绝大多数(95.5%)的卫生保健机构没有储存过期药品，而是将其处理掉。只有10%的卫生保健人员充分了解如何处置ELU药物。大多数(70%)ke和ki报告显示，没有关于ELU药物安全处置的提高认识机制。在了解如何处理ELU药物的HH应答者中，76%的人受过高等教育，但大多数(95%)的人表示，即使有这样的机制，他们也不愿意参与“ELU回收”计划。实地观察证实，在各个地区，包括哈瓦萨市附近的哈瓦萨湖岸，有大量医疗废物被不当丢弃。这项研究表明，哈瓦萨市社区严重缺乏对ELU药品管理的认识，对环境和人类健康构成风险。此外，大多数家庭使用不安全的方式处置低纯度药物，导致人类健康威胁和环境风险。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Toxicology TOXICOLOGY-

CiteScore

5.50

自引率

3.40%

发文量

审稿时长

10 weeks

期刊介绍： Journal of Toxicology is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal that publishes original research articles, review articles, and clinical studies in all areas of toxicological sciences. The journal will consider articles looking at the structure, function, and mechanism of agents that are toxic to humans and/or animals, as well as toxicological medicine, risk assessment, safety evaluation, and environmental health.