Household Knowledge and Perceptions on Disposal Practices of Unused Medicines in Kenya

Medicines constitute a key factor in all health care delivery systems and are now said to contribute highly towards many households’ recurrent expenditure. As access to medicines increase, bulks of medicines become unused and are kept at home. This has resulted into accumulation of unused medicines at home mainly due to lack of adequate knowledge on procedures for their safe disposal – which potentially can expose households to risks related to diversion, accidental overdose and use by children. An understanding of people’s knowledge and perceptions on their disposal patterns therefore becomes fundamental in tackling this issue. It is against this backdrop that this study intended not only to bridge the knowledge gap in this discipline, but also to explore households’ perceptions and practices of disposal patterns of unused medicines in Nairobi City – the capital of Kenya. The study found out that household’s knowledge on disposal practices of unused medicines is relatively weak attributed to by lack of public outreach and awareness campaigns, laxity on the side of medical and healthcare professionals to provide disposal guidance at hospitals and pharmacies, unclear disposal instructions on medicines packages and negligence to read the disposal instructions.