Open AccessHealth-Care professionals' knowledge and practice regarding disposal of medicines in primary health-care facilities in South Africa: Impact and implications
Author(s) -
K. J. Mahlaba,
Elvera Helberg,
Brian Godman,
Amanj Kurdi,
Johanna Catharina Meyer
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of research in pharmacy practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2319-9644
pISSN - 2279-042X
DOI - 10.4103/jrpp.jrpp_84_21
Subject(s) - medicine , biomedical waste , health care , waste disposal , family medicine , nursing , medical emergency , environmental health , waste management , engineering , economics , economic growth
Professional nurses, pharmacists, and medical practitioners are responsible for disposing of medicines within health-care facilities. South African regulations stipulate that medicines should not be disposed of through sewage systems because of the potential impact on patients and the environment. Consequently, our objective was to determine knowledge and practices among health-care professionals (HCPs) in South Africa and the information they provide to patients regarding the safe disposal of unused/expired/damaged medicines to provide future guidance with identified concerns.