Open AccessASSESSMENT ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL TAPAH REGARDING DISPOSAL OF UNUSED AND EXPIRED MEDICINES
Author(s) -
Nur Feazira Abdul Kadir,
Nur Syamimi Nur Syamimi,
M. Balakrishnan,
Wan Nursyahirah Wan Zaidi,
Chee Fai Sui
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
malaysian journal of pharmaceutical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2180-429X
pISSN - 1675-7319
DOI - 10.21315/mjps2021.19.1.1
Subject(s) - medicine , pharmacy , christian ministry , family medicine , logistic regression , systematic sampling , statistical significance , philosophy , theology , pathology
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than half of dispensed medications were inappropriately prescribed, which causes a build-up of unused medications and increasing medication disposal. The aim of this study is to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and current practice of patients in Hospital Tapah, Perak, Malaysia towards this issue. A cross-sectional study was conducted by using a self- administered questionnaire adapted from Su Lan et al. (2018). Patients aged more than 17 years old who visited outpatient pharmacy and who admitted into medical ward; the caregivers of children who admitted into paediatric ward, Hospital Tapah were enrolled in this study, selected through convenience sampling. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine significant association between independent and dependent parameters. The significance level was set at p < 0.1. Total of 344 valid questionnaires were returned in which 34.9% (n = 120) men and 65.1% (n = 224) women participated. The majority of the participants has general knowledge of the correct way of disposing medicines. Although 57.3% of the participants have heard about ‘Return Your Medicines Programme’ (RMP) implemented by the Ministry of Health Malaysia, only 38.1% returned their unused or expired medication to the nearby hospital/clinic. Most of them were found to have a positive attitude regarding this issue, nevertheless only 24.7% practiced a proper medication disposal. The utilisation of RMP could be improved by increasing the awareness of safe medication disposal, as significant association has been found between the level of knowledge and attitude with current disposal practice of patients in Hospital Tapah.