Investigation of the Current Disposal Practices data of Unused Medicine among General Public in Achrol Village, Jaipur, Rajasthan (India): A cross-sectional study

Description

Lack of knowledge and education is one of the major factors contributing to improper medication waste disposal. We aim to raise awareness of acceptable disposal procedures and minimize detrimental consequences on the ecosystem and community by collecting information on how to properly dispose of a wide variety of household medications. Interviews were conducted utilising a standardised questionnaire developed for a prior research to acquire the necessary data. There were two parts to the questionnaire: basic demographic information (age, gender, education level, and profession) and questions about medication storage and disposal (e.g., whether or not they kept unused medications at home, where they got them, what kind of drugs they were, why they weren't used if they checked the expiration date, and so on). If participants were 18 or older, they were eligible for inclusion. Three methods were used to gather information: a self-made survey, a Google form, and in-person chats. The questionnaire was reviewed by expert. The investigator conducted residence to residence self-structured interview. For a single residence, this amounted to an average of 15 minutes. As a result of their talk, the researcher had all the information they needed to properly complete the subject's questionnaire and data collecting form. The medicine use, storage, and disposal habits of family members, as well as questions on the prevalence of chronic disease, are all included in the questionnaire. Forms for collecting information are applied to document specifics about the remaining or expired medication. The proper use, storage, and disposal of medications were condensed into a brochure and disseminated to the public. Numbers and percentages were used to show the questionnaire data. We utilised descriptive statistics to classify the variables. The study was carried out with the assistance of Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 18. Among the 250 people who filled out the survey, the majority were men (n = 189, 75.6%) and women (n = 61, 24.4%), and the majority were also between the ages of 18 and 25 (n = 208, 83.2%). They have a literacy rate of above 98% (n = 247). Among those who participated in the survey, 71.6% (n = 179) were found to have at least one drug that was not being utilised. The majority of responders (n = 127, 50.8%) reported keeping unneeded medications until they had passed their expiration dates. Almost two thirds (n = 160, 64%) of the homes had suitable storage for their medications, consisting of either containers or shelves. The remainder of them lacked any kind of logical system for storing things. The vast majority of those polled (n = 209, or 83.6%) agreed that proper medication disposal is important. The majority of people surveyed in this research (n=213, 85.2%) agreed that more education is needed to raise awareness about the risks associated with inappropriate medication disposal and the best optimal way to do so.

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